sentinel

[ sen-tn-l ]

noun

1. a person or thing that watches or stands as if watching:

   The cats were the sentinels of the house, patrolling constantly for rodents, dogs, and other invaders.

   Synonyms: lookout, watch, guard, sentry

2. a soldier stationed as a guard to challenge all comers and prevent a surprise attack:

   Lincoln refused to make his home mansion a garrison during the Civil War, but plain-clothes sentinels did patrol the property

   Synonyms: lookout, watch, guard, sentry

3. Digital Technology. tag ¹( def 9a ).
4. Medicine/Medical. an indication or mark that a disease is present or prevalent:

   New viruses in the wastewater can be used as sentinels of future outbreaks.

verb (used with object)

, sen·ti·neled, sen·ti·nel·ing or (especially British) sen·ti·nelled, sen·ti·nel·ling.

1. to watch over or guard as a sentinel:

   This monument sentinels each soldier's grave as a shrine.

adjective

1. Medicine/Medical. relating to or being an indication of a disease's presence or prevalence:

   Pregnant women attending prenatal appointments serve as a sentinel population for the prevalence of malaria in the region.

   The sentinel lymph nodes are the first lymph nodes that the cancer cells reach if they spread.

sentinel

/ ˈsɛntɪnəl /

noun

1. a person, such as a sentry, assigned to keep guard
2. computing a character used to indicate the beginning or end of a particular block of information

verb

1. to guard as a sentinel
2. to post as a sentinel
3. to provide with a sentinel

Other Words From

• sen·ti·nel·like adjective
• sen·ti·nel·ship noun
• un·sen·ti·neled adjective
• un·sen·ti·nelled adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentinel¹

First recorded in 1570–80; from Middle French sentinelle, from Italian sentinella, derivative of Old Italian sentina “vigilance,” from Latin sent(īre) “to feel” + -īna -ine ²

Word History and Origins

Origin of sentinel¹

C16: from Old French sentinelle, from Old Italian sentinella, from sentina watchfulness, from sentire to notice, from Latin

Example Sentences

The chain has been owned by private equity firms TriArtisan and Sentinel Capital Partners since 2014 and does not release financial results.

From Los Angeles Times

“If everything’s honest, I’ll gladly accept the results. I don’t change on that. If it’s not, you have to fight for the right of the country,” he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in May.

From Salon

Bowker worked in the Miami Serpentarium, which according to the South Florida Sun Sentinel was the world’s first snake venom production laboratory.

From Slate

The church stood empty like a silent sentinel over a small cemetery next to it.

From Slate

The Tucson Sentinel reports that Lewis stressed the importance of Indigenous voters in President Joe Biden’s narrow victory in Arizona in 2020.

From Salon