: an important official of a shire or county charged primarily with judicial duties (such as executing the processes and orders of courts and judges)
Examples of sheriff in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Cantrell said the sheriff's office has never been contacted by any federal agencies questioning the spending.
—
Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2025
The sheriff’s department has said animal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined three monkeys had escaped.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2025
The sheriff's office and the Harris County District Attorney's Office have opened separate investigations into the incident, according to the report.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2025
The suspect was taken to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead, the sheriff's office in Columbus County said.
—Daniel S. Levine, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
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Arkansas Online, 3 Nov. 2025
The sheriff’s department has said animal experts from Tulane examined the trailer and had determined three monkeys had escaped.
—Sasha Rogelberg, Fortune, 2 Nov. 2025
The sheriff's office and the Harris County District Attorney's Office have opened separate investigations into the incident, according to the report.
—Alexandra Koch, FOXNews.com, 2 Nov. 2025
The suspect was taken to a local hospital where they were pronounced dead, the sheriff's office in Columbus County said.
—Daniel S. Levine, PEOPLE, 31 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for sheriff
Cite this Entry
“Sheriff.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/sheriff. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
sheriff
noun
sher·iff
ˈsher-əf 
: an official of a county who is in charge of enforcing the law
Etymology
Middle English shirreve "sheriff," from Old English scīrgerēfa "sheriff," from scīr "shire, county" and gerēfa "a government agent"
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