patrol

patrol — verb

1. to move around a place regularly to make sure it is safe and that no trouble is

1.verbtransitive / intransitiveB2
Definition

to move around a place regularly to make sure it is safe and that no trouble is starting there.

Example

Airport police patrol the terminal after the last flight lands.

patrol [place] — regular security work

Two guards patrolled the museum roof during the stormy night.

Common collocations
  • patrol the streets
  • patrol the border
  • patrol the coast
  • patrol at night
Synonyms
  • guard

    broader; can mean protecting one point without moving around

  • watch

    focuses on looking carefully, not necessarily walking a route

  • police

    more official and broader; can include crowd control as well as route checks

Grammar Patterns

patrol [place]

patrol around/along [place]

be patrolled by [person or group]

Usage Note

Usually takes a place as its object or follows a place phrase such as 'along the coast' or 'around the station'. Passive forms are common when the focus is on the area being protected.

Common Mistakes

Police patrolled in the station area all night.
Police patrolled the station area all night.
with a direct object, this sense does not need an extra preposition.

patrol — noun

Word family

  • patroller
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

For security work, 'patrol' suggests repeated movement through an area, not staying in one place. 'Guard' is broader: a guard can stand at one gate, protect one person, or watch one door without moving around. 'Watch' focuses on careful looking; someone can watch a screen or a sleeping child, but that is not a patrol. 'Police' is the widest and most official word. It can mean controlling crowds or keeping order in a whole community, whether or not officers walk a route. Use 'patrol' when people, vehicles, or aircraft keep going around an area to prevent trouble. A guard may stay by the embassy gate, but officers patrol the streets around it.

patrol ↗guard ↗watch ↗police ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

  • border patrol
  • coast patrol
  • night patrol
  • police patrol
  • foot patrol

Adverbs

Phrases

  • on patrol
  • go on patrol
  • patrol the streets
  • patrol the border

Prepositions

Etymology

Middle FrenchEnglish

Patrol came into English in the 1600s from Middle French words such as 'patrouille' and 'patrouiller', used for a night watch or for going the rounds. Earlier French seems to have linked the word to walking through mud, probably from 'patte', meaning a paw or foot. That history fits the modern picture of people moving around an area on foot to keep it safe.