patrol car

noun

: a police automobile connected with headquarters by a two-way radio or computer : squad car
Placing an unarmed, compliant juvenile in the back of a patrol car transformed an investigatory stop into an arrest, the 9th Circuit held …The National Law Journal

Examples of patrol car in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
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Steele said after the first patrol car arrived on the scene, Rich tried to open the doors but did not succeed. CBS News, 10 Feb. 2026 McPhatter berated the man and threw him against a patrol car twice, and when the man antagonized McPhatter from the back seat of his police cruiser, the cop reached back and grabbed the glasses off his face, prosecutors allege. John Annese, New York Daily News, 10 Feb. 2026 Less than 30 seconds later, Ingerson approached the woman and children on the sidewalk while the deputy, with his back turned, took several steps into the street, away from the curb and the patrol car. Shira Moolten, Sun Sentinel, 6 Feb. 2026 She was also placed in the warm patrol car. Charna Flam, PEOPLE, 30 Jan. 2026 See All Example Sentences for patrol car

Word History

First Known Use

1926, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of patrol car was in 1926

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Cite this Entry

“Patrol car.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/patrol%20car. Accessed 15 Feb. 2026.

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