Sentinel (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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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.
  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
  3. tag1 (def. 9a).
  4. 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. 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.
noun
  1. a person, such as a sentry, assigned to keep guard
  2. a character used to indicate the beginning or end of a particular block of information
verb -nels, -nelling or -nelled (tr)
  1. to guard as a sentinel
  2. to post as a sentinel
  3. to provide with a sentinel
Sentinel (noun) Definition, Meaning & Examples

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