sentineled or sentinelled; sentineling or sentinelling
1
: to watch over as a sentinel
2
: to furnish with a sentinel
3
: to post as sentinel
Synonyms
Examples of sentinel in a Sentence
Noun
a lone sentinel kept watch over the fort
Recent Examples on the Web
Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2024
The system’s sentinels had permitted him to run a wildly iconoclastic campaign that galvanized young Iranians and unshackled an extraordinary debate over the once-sacrosanct nuclear program.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 27 Nov. 2013
Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Think delicate epiphytic orchids curling around the knobby trunks of waving palms; white clapboard cottages with shutters in shades of salmon, sunshine, and seafoam; and a stretch of private beach with a lighthouse sentinel on the horizon.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 30 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for sentinel 
Noun
Thanks to their vigilance, these sentinels also pick out scientific curiosities from the night skies.
—Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 20 Sep. 2024
The system’s sentinels had permitted him to run a wildly iconoclastic campaign that galvanized young Iranians and unshackled an extraordinary debate over the once-sacrosanct nuclear program.
—Suzanne Maloney, Foreign Affairs, 27 Nov. 2013
Verb
While penicillin was a game-changer, microorganisms were able to quickly adapt developing mutations to neutralize the effects of this antibiotic, sort of like those robot sentinels in the movie X-Men: Days of Future Past.
—Bruce Y. Lee, Forbes, 17 Sep. 2024
Think delicate epiphytic orchids curling around the knobby trunks of waving palms; white clapboard cottages with shutters in shades of salmon, sunshine, and seafoam; and a stretch of private beach with a lighthouse sentinel on the horizon.
—Caroline Rogers, Southern Living, 30 June 2023
See all Example Sentences for sentinel
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'sentinel.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Sentinel.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sentinel. Accessed 2 Oct. 2024.
Copy CitationMedical Definition
sentinel
adjective
sen·ti·nel
ˈsent-ᵊn-əl 
: being an individual or part of a population potentially susceptible to an infection or infestation that is being monitored for the appearance or recurrence of the causative pathogen or parasite
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