: an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties (such as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)
Examples of sheriff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Advertisement Tillman is a vicious, shotgun-toting North Dakota sheriff who’s obsessed with hunting down the battered spouse (Juno Temple) who fled his abuse.
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Hugh Hart, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
He’s been a renegade sheriff in The Hateful Eight, an outlaw on Justified, a Navy SEAL on Six and a trigger-happy train robber in Shanghai Noon — but Fallout marks the first time he’s been two versions of one cowboy.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 June 2024
One of those crimes is the rape and murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, the sheriff said.
—Jillian Sykes, CNN, 17 June 2024
The sheriff said Martinez-Hernandez illegally entered the United States in February 2023, having left El Salvador, where he is accused of murdering a woman a month before.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sheriff 
Hugh Hart, Los Angeles Times, 19 June 2024
He’s been a renegade sheriff in The Hateful Eight, an outlaw on Justified, a Navy SEAL on Six and a trigger-happy train robber in Shanghai Noon — but Fallout marks the first time he’s been two versions of one cowboy.
—Danielle Directo-Meston, The Hollywood Reporter, 17 June 2024
One of those crimes is the rape and murder of Rachel Morin, a Maryland mother of five, the sheriff said.
—Jillian Sykes, CNN, 17 June 2024
The sheriff said Martinez-Hernandez illegally entered the United States in February 2023, having left El Salvador, where he is accused of murdering a woman a month before.
—Liam Quinn, Peoplemag, 17 June 2024
See all Example Sentences for sheriff
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Cite this Entry
“Sheriff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sheriff. Accessed 2 Jul. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sheriff
noun
sher·iff
ˈsher-əf 
: an official of a county who is in charge of enforcing the law
Etymology
Middle English shirreve "sheriff," from Old English scīrgerēfa "sheriff," from scīr "shire, county" and gerēfa "a government agent"
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