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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The plan also reduced senior services, after-school programming, leaving four Police Department vacancies empty, and putting off replacing two patrol cars. Don Stacom, Hartford Courant, 27 Apr. 2026 The video shows an Antioch Police Department officer responding to a report of an armed robbery when the suspect's car rams into a patrol car. Brian Day, USA Today, 25 Apr. 2026 What the video shows The dashboard‑camera video shows Officer Rosebud getting out of his patrol car and approaching a 2019 Jeep Grand Cherokee, which police said had been driving without headlights. Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 21 Apr. 2026 The two officers who were in the patrol car at the time of the crash were not injured, the crash log said. Kendrick Calfee, Kansas City Star, 11 Apr. 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 1 May. 2026.

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