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
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.
Under a blazing bright November sun, Officer Andrew Tara rearranged the gear for his patrol car on the asphalt outside of the department headquarters in Sunnyvale. Luis Melecio-Zambrano, Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2026 The driver, identified in the report as 19-year-old Madeline Cruise, corrected the bug back onto the road and crossed the double yellow line, crashing head-on into Craig's 2023 Ford Explorer patrol car. Katie Nixon, Nashville Tennessean, 29 Dec. 2025 The officer was airlifted to a local hospital with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries after another driver struck them and their patrol car, according to the Prince George's Fire Department. Ophelia Anwah, CBS News, 28 Dec. 2025 One officer found the man, identified as Michael Frank Breuer, 75, holding the firearm and took cover behind his patrol car, police said. Wren Smetana, AZCentral.com, 20 Dec. 2025 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 6 Jan. 2026.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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