PATROLLING Synonyms: 36 Similar and Opposite Words

patrolling

verb

present participle of patrol

as in guarding

to walk or go around or through (an area, building, etc.) especially in order to make sure that it is safe The squad had orders to patrol the area. The border is patrolled by the army.

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Example Sentences

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.

Recent Examples of patrolling They were soon surrounded by a crowd of about 1,000 bewildered villagers, who alerted forest officials patrolling nearby. — Rhea Mogul, CNN Money, 14 Oct. 2026 Spanish police and thousands of soldiers have been deployed, patrolling the city center and areas near the border. — ABC News, 12 Oct. 2026 While Spencer Jones is still a work in progress defensively in center, Grisham certainly shouldn’t be patrolling the position for the Yankees moving forward. — Gary Phillips, New York Daily News, 9 Oct. 2026 Baywatch is, of course, the globally recognizable show about lifeguards patrolling the beaches of LA and Hawaii, which three decades ago made heroes of its stars and creators. — Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 8 Oct. 2026 Cobb County officers have continued patrolling the city and responding to 911 calls while Mableton officials work toward a long-term solution. — CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026 Videos showed helicopters and military armored vehicles patrolling the base. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 27 Sep. 2026 Thursday, a police K-9 officer was patrolling the Community Center when a silver Honda entered the parking lot, police said. — Daniel Hunt, Sacbee.com, 25 Sep. 2026 In the clip shared by Zentropa and sales rep TrustNordisk, Anne Sofie’s family tries to get on with life as usual, while a police car is patrolling in front of their home. — Annika Pham, Variety, 10 Sep. 2026

Recent Examples of Synonyms for patrolling

Verb

Their day jobs are with the Indo-Tibetan Border Police (ITBP), a specialized force tasked with guarding the peaks and passes of India’s 2,167-mile (3,488-kilometer) long Himalayan border with China.

— Helen Regan, CNN Money, 10 Oct. 2026
The two businesses, collectively known as CTU, recruited the Colombian commandos who were supposed guarding Sanon in Haiti but later stormed Moïse’s hillside residence above Port-au-Prince in the middle of the night.

— Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

Definition of guarding

Verb

The crisis is a central issue in the race for California insurance commissioner, with candidates offering different approaches to stabilizing the market and protecting homeowners.

— Kenny Choi, CBS News, 13 Oct. 2026
The result was the PAC-2 variant better known as the MIM-104 Patriot missile, made famous during the 1991 Gulf War for protecting Coalition forces against attacks by Iraqi Scud ballistic missiles.

— New Atlas, New Atlas, 13 Oct. 2026

Definition of protecting

Browse Nearby Words

patrolled

patrolling

patrolman

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“Patrolling.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/patrolling. Accessed 20 Oct. 2026.

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Synonyms of patrolling

verb

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