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
The detective approached Becker and identified himself as an on-duty Indianapolis Metropolitan Police sergeant.
—
Jade Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Oct. 2024
According to the affidavit, Anthony joined the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 2006 and retired as a sergeant from the agency in August of this year.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Posted by Orange County Sheriff's Office, Florida on Friday, October 18, 2024
Anthony Shea joined the Orange County Sheriff's Office in 2006 and resigned from his position as sergeant earlier this year.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2024
Inside Randle’s backpack, a corrections sergeant allegedly found the peanut butter jar, but there wasn’t anything creamy or chocolatey inside.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sergeant 
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Jade Jackson, The Indianapolis Star, 29 Oct. 2024
According to the affidavit, Anthony joined the Orange County Sheriff’s Office in 2006 and retired as a sergeant from the agency in August of this year.
—Nicole Acosta, People.com, 24 Oct. 2024
Posted by Orange County Sheriff's Office, Florida on Friday, October 18, 2024
Anthony Shea joined the Orange County Sheriff's Office in 2006 and resigned from his position as sergeant earlier this year.
—Emily Mae Czachor, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2024
Inside Randle’s backpack, a corrections sergeant allegedly found the peanut butter jar, but there wasn’t anything creamy or chocolatey inside.
—Nate Gartrell, The Mercury News, 2 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for sergeant
Dictionary Entries Near sergeant
Cite this Entry
“Sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sergeant. Accessed 28 Nov. 2024.
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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