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Glite Dictionary
US Border Patrol

US Border Patrol

1 3.8
A United States government agency that finds and stops people entering the country without permission
  • proper noun
  • /juː ɛs ˈbɔrdər pəˈtrɔl/
  • Formal
translation icon : Patrulla Fronteriza de EE. UU.
  • "The Tohono O'odham Nation is now occupied by a foreign army called the US Border Patrol."

Examples

  • Many citizens rely on the US Border Patrol to maintain security at the US-Mexico border.

  • "The Tohono O'odham Nation is now occupied by a foreign army called the US Border Patrol.

    Blog text (7)

  • Sept. 18, 2012: The US Border Patrol plans to expand the militarization and abuse on O'odham land.

    Blog text (7)

  • Federal documents show the US Border Patrol plans a three-acre complex on sovereign Tohono O'odham land.

    Blog text (7)

  • Wilson said the US Border Patrol now has superior power on O'odham land to that of the Tohono O'odham Nation and the Tohono O'odham Police Department.

    Blog text (7)

  • The US Border Patrol is tasked with preventing illegal entry into the United States.

  • Recently, the US Border Patrol intercepted a group attempting to cross the border illegally.

Synonyms

border patrol
vsUS Border Patrol
  • Formal
41 3.8

A group of officers who watch and protect a country's border to stop illegal crossings

is the federal agency for one country that detects and prevents illegal entry
United States Border Patrol
vsUS Border Patrol
1 3.9

A federal agency that patrols United States borders to stop people entering the country illegally

focuses on the agency's basic role preventing illegal entry without that organizational detail

Surface Forms

US Border Patrol main

Morphology

US + border + patrol

The phrase is transparently built from its parts: 'US' (the United States) + 'border' (boundary) + 'patrol' (a unit that watches or guards), so a learner who knows those words can infer it is the unit that guards the US border. Although it is an institutional proper name, the composition follows a common, cross-linguistically familiar pattern, making the meaning immediately deducible to a B1 learner.

Etymology

US Border Patrol comes from the simple image of officers who patrol the border—walking, driving, or watching along it to look for people trying to cross. That's why the name means a government force whose job is 'to find and stop people entering the country illegally'.