marshal
Americannoun
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a military officer of the highest rank, as in the French and some other armies.
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an administrative officer of a U.S. judicial district who performs duties similar to those of a sheriff.
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a court officer serving processes, attending court, giving personal service to the judges, etc.
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the chief of a police or fire department in some cities.
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a police officer in some communities.
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a higher officer of a royal household or court.
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an official charged with the arrangement or regulation of ceremonies, parades, etc..
the marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade.
verb (used with object)
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to arrange in proper order; set out in an orderly manner; arrange clearly.
to marshal facts; to marshal one's arguments.
- Antonyms:
- scatter
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to array, as for battle.
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to usher or lead ceremoniously.
Their host marshaled them into the room.
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Heraldry. to combine (two or more coats of arms) on a single escutcheon.
noun
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(in some armies and air forces) an officer of the highest rank
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(in England) an officer, usually a junior barrister, who accompanies a judge on circuit and performs miscellaneous secretarial duties
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a Federal court officer assigned to a judicial district whose functions are similar to those of a sheriff
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(in some states) the chief police or fire officer
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an officer who organizes or conducts ceremonies, parades, etc
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Also called: knight marshal. (formerly in England) an officer of the royal family or court, esp one in charge of protocol
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an obsolete word for ostler
verb
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to arrange in order
to marshal the facts
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to assemble and organize (troops, vehicles, etc) prior to onward movement
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to arrange (assets, mortgages, etc) in order of priority
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to guide or lead, esp in a ceremonious way
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to combine (two or more coats of arms) on one shield
Related Words
See gather.
Other Word Forms
- marshalcy noun
- marshaler noun
- marshaller noun
- marshalship noun
- remarshal verb (used with object)
- submarshal noun
- undermarshal noun
- unmarshaled adjective
- unmarshalled adjective
Etymology
Origin of marshal
1225–75; Middle English marshal, syncopated variant of mareschal < Old French < Germanic; compare Old High German marahscalh groom, equivalent to marah horse ( mare 1 ) + scalh servant, cognate with Old English scealc
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Trains pulled in every 15 or 20 minutes, as many as the endlessly enterprising operators of Ukraine's railway network could find in the sidings and marshalling yards.
From BBC
The grand marshal of the festival, Butler, who lost his longtime home in Altadena in last year’s Eaton fire, embodies the event’s theme of passing the baton to the next generation.
From Los Angeles Times
“I believe having the fire marshal conduct the study will start the conversation about leveraging existing fire and emergency response technologies and strategies to maximize housing projects.”
From Los Angeles Times
These fall upon the reader more as an unsifted data dump than as a focused marshaling of evidence in aid of human and psychological insight.
Every desirable human trait now has champions who marshal clinical studies and colorful anecdotes to show readers how to get more of a good thing in their lives.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
