noun
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a man, esp a policeman, who patrols a certain area
-
a man employed to patrol an area to help motorists in difficulty
Gender
See -man.
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of patrolman
Explanation
A patrolman is another name for a police officer. Most patrolmen keep an eye on a certain area while walking or driving around it. The word patrolman is a bit old fashioned, since it's really only appropriate for a man — you can call a female officer a "patrolwoman," but it's simpler to just call them both police officers. Patrolman was first used in the 1840s to distinguish British constables who walked a beat, patrolling a specific neighborhood or region on foot. Patrol comes from the French patrouille, "a night watch."
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Asked how he’d like to be remembered, Wambaugh summed it up with the no-nonsense crispness of a patrolman handing out a speeding ticket.
From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 28, 2025
Philip, then a New York City patrolman, kept close watch over his boys as they grew.
From Washington Post • Nov. 17, 2022
But while driving our rental car to the next event, set to be held in Augusta, Ga., we were pulled over by a highway patrolman in the rural stretch between Birmingham and Atlanta.
From New York Times • May 13, 2022
Her father was a highway patrolman, part of a long line of law enforcement in a family that’s instilled in Anderson a reverence for law enforcement.
From Seattle Times • May 11, 2022
Stifling a wail, she watched as a patrolman took Salvador by the shoulder and led him over to the group of men bound for jail.
From "Lupita Mañana" by Patricia Beatty
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
