border patrolman
- noun
- /ˈbɔrdər pəˈtroʊlmən/
:
agente de la patrulla fronteriza
- He refuses to answer questions on Operation Fast and Furious, where a poor family of Americans has lost their beloved relative (border patrolman). This makes it look as if he uses executive privilege to avoid telling the truth.
How many border patrolmen does it take to monitor that entire southern border?
- How many border patrolmen does it take to monitor that entire southern border?
Examples
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The border patrolman stopped the suspicious vehicle to check for illegal goods.
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How many border patrolmen does it take to monitor that entire southern border?
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Zack and another border patrolman look up at him.
Fiction book (1996) -
J.J., the truck got busted because two honest border patrolmen... were out doin' their duty.
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A diligent border patrolman looked fascinated by the strange passport and decided to call a colleague who specialized in attending to those Turks with unintelligible language and sad eyes.
Fiction book (1998) -
Each border patrolman has a specific sector of the border to monitor for illegal crossings.
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As a border patrolman, he is responsible for preventing unauthorized entry into the country.
Synonyms
A woman who guards a country's border to stop illegal entry or smuggling
A person who watches and guards a country's border to stop people from entering without permission
How Active
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a person who patrols the borders' is directly and compositionally derived from 'border' (boundary area) + 'patrolman' (an officer who patrols). This straightforward noun-noun combination follows common English patterns and has clear cross-linguistic parallels (e.g. 'guardia fronteriza'/'garde-frontière'), so a B1 learner knowing both words would readily infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Border patrolman comes from the simple picture of a man who patrols a country's border by walking along it and watching for people trying to cross. That's why it means 'a person whose job is to guard the border'.