sergeant

noun

ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio)
Synonyms of sergeantnext
1
: sergeant at arms
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 California Highway Patrol established a three-officer unit patrol and one sergeant in January, whose work comes on top of enforcement efforts by the L.A. County Sheriff’s Department. Oct. 25, 2023 The new CHP unit has issued more then 1,200 citations; 1,000 of those citations were for speeding. —Karen Garcia, Los Angeles Times, 9 May 2024 Four people were in life-threatening condition, a sergeant with the Senegalese military said. —Kevin Shalvey, ABC News, 9 May 2024 See all Example Sentences for sergeant 

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sergeant.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English sergeaunt, seriaunt, sergaunt, sargeaunt "servant, attendant, foot soldier, officer of a town, a court, or the royal household, holder of a sergeancy," borrowed from Anglo-French (also continental Old French sergant), going back to early Medieval Latin servient-, serviens "servant," going back to Latin, present participle of serviō, servīre "to perform duties for (a master) in the capacity of a slave, serve entry 1"

Note: The word sergeant is in effect a doublet of servant, both ultimately descending from the present participle of Latin servīre. The two words are already distinct in some manuscripts of the eleventh-century Old French Vie de saint Alexis, with sergant referring to a trusted servant of a noble household, servant simply to one serving God. The usual pronunciation of English sergeant exemplifies the late Middle English change of /ɛr/ to /ar/ before a consonant, which is not reflected in the standard spelling.

First Known Use

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of sergeant was in the 13th century

Phrases Containing sergeant

Dictionary Entries Near sergeant

sergeancy

sergeant

sergeant at arms

See More Nearby Entries 

Cite this Entry

“Sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sergeant. Accessed 12 May. 2024.

Copy Citation

Share

Kids Definition

sergeant

noun
ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio)
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"

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See All

More Commonly Misspelled Words

Your vs. You're: How to Use Them Correctly

Every Letter Is Silent, Sometimes: A-Z List of Examples

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

How to Use Em Dashes (—), En Dashes (–) , and Hyphens (-)
See All

Popular in Wordplay

See All

The Words of the Week - May 10

A Great Big List of Bread Words

10 Scrabble Words Without Any Vowels

8 Uncommon Words Related to Love

9 Superb Owl Words
See All

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Word Game You can make only 12 words. Pick the best ones!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
Missing Letter A crossword with a twist
winning words from the national spelling bee logo
Spelling Bee Quiz Can you outdo past winners of the National Spelli...