sergeant

noun

ser·​geant ˈsär-jənt How to pronounce sergeant (audio)
1
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
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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In one incident, a male cop at Harlem’s 32nd Precinct dared a male detective to drink the express milk a sergeant had just pumped. Thomas Tracy, New York Daily News, 11 Feb. 2025 After drinking alcohol with his colleagues, the accused took a machine gun and went to the command dugout, knocked on the door, and started shooting at patrolmen, killing a junior sergeant. Justin Gest, Newsweek, 11 Feb. 2025 Another recounted how a sergeant had called him the n-word. Mike Hendricks, Kansas City Star, 7 Feb. 2025 After an 8 1/2-year stint and honorable discharge as a communications specialist and recon sergeant with the Headquarters and Service Battery, 1st Battalion, 151st Artillery of the Minnesota National Guard and Army Reserve, Marlin found time to embrace his love of cooking. Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 6 Feb. 2025 See all Example Sentences for sergeant 

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

Dictionary Entries Near sergeant

Cite this Entry

“Sergeant.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sergeant. Accessed 16 Feb. 2025.

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"

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