1
2
obsolete
: an officer who enforces the judgments of a court or the commands of one in authority
3
: a noncommissioned officer ranking in the army and marine corps above a corporal and below a staff sergeant
broadly
: noncommissioned officer
4
: an officer in a police force ranking in the U.S. just below captain or sometimes lieutenant and in England just below inspector
Examples of sergeant in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Thomas Spratt, the city’s first-ever motor sergeant, who worked with Schmidt on the ordinance.
—
Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2025
Benjamin Therriault, a Richmond Police Department sergeant and union president, said the measure could have been helpful a few years ago during an internal investigation.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Brian Albert, a BPD sergeant who owned the property that was the site of O’Keefe’s death; Brian Higgins, an ATF agent and Albert’s friend who was there that night and has romantic interest in Read; and Colin Albert, Brian Albert’s nephew, who the defense argues had beef with O’Keefe.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 30 Mar. 2025
The request includes three patrol officers, a traffic and special events sergeant, an internet crimes against children detective, and a digital forensics specialist.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sergeant
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Erika I. Ritchie, Oc Register, 29 Mar. 2025
Benjamin Therriault, a Richmond Police Department sergeant and union president, said the measure could have been helpful a few years ago during an internal investigation.
—Stephen Hobbs, Sacbee.com, 2 Apr. 2025
Brian Albert, a BPD sergeant who owned the property that was the site of O’Keefe’s death; Brian Higgins, an ATF agent and Albert’s friend who was there that night and has romantic interest in Read; and Colin Albert, Brian Albert’s nephew, who the defense argues had beef with O’Keefe.
—Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 30 Mar. 2025
The request includes three patrol officers, a traffic and special events sergeant, an internet crimes against children detective, and a digital forensics specialist.
—Phil Diehl, San Diego Union-Tribune, 30 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sergeant
Cite this Entry
“Sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sergeant. Accessed 19 Apr. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sergeant
noun
ser·geant
ˈsär-jənt 
1
: a military noncommissioned officer with any of the ranks above corporal in the army or the marines or above airman first class in the air force
especially
: an enlisted person with the rank just below that of staff sergeant
2
: a police officer ranking in the U.S. just below captain or sometimes lieutenant
Etymology
Middle English sergeant "sergeant, attendant, servant," from early French sergent, serjant (same meaning), from Latin servient-, serviens, a form of the verb servire "to serve"
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