patrol car

noun

: a police automobile connected with headquarters by a two-way radio or computer : squad car
Placing an unarmed, compliant juvenile in the back of a patrol car transformed an investigatory stop into an arrest, the 9th Circuit held Aug. 24.The National Law Journal

Examples of patrol car in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
These examples are automatically compiled from online sources to illustrate current usage. Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
The sergeant was sitting in his patrol car working on his laptop, when a gunman, identified later as 40-year-old Andy Morales, rolled up to the sergeant’s car and fired .223 rounds from an AR pistol at the sergeant before driving off. Melissa Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 28 Oct. 2024 Twice in the same week in May 2023, Oakland County Sheriff’s deputies restrained and put 10-year-old Caleb Killingsworth in the back of a patrol car. Lily Altavena, Detroit Free Press, 25 Sep. 2024 The sheriff's office has patrol cars and bright orange cones at the entrance of Summit and Congress Avenue and at Summit and Kirk Road. NBC News, 17 Sep. 2024 But perhaps owing to the store’s past experience with crime, a security patrol car was parked by the entrance on a late August afternoon while an officer talked to a customer by a car in the parking lot. Megan Ulu-Lani Boyanton, The Denver Post, 6 Sep. 2024 See all Example Sentences for patrol car 

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of patrol car was in 1926

Dictionary Entries Near patrol car

Cite this Entry

“Patrol car.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patrol%20car. Accessed 19 Nov. 2024.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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