sentry go

9.7

A time when a soldier stands guard to watch a place

noun
/ˈsɛntri ɡoʊ/

Archaic

: turno de centinela

During his sentry go, he kept a careful watch over the entrance.

Examples

He was assigned the sentry go for the first half of the night.
The soldiers were on sentry go throughout the night.
After his sentry go, he returned to the barracks to rest.
During the sentry go, he felt very alert.
During his sentry go, he remained vigilant, watching for any signs of trouble at the entrance.
After a long sentry go, he finally had the chance to relax with his fellow soldiers.
The team took turns on sentry go, ensuring that the camp was always protected during the night.

Synonyms

guard

vssentry go

179 1.0

A time when someone watches and protects a place or people

is focused on military standing watch periods rather than general protective observation

guard duty

vssentry go

11 3.3

A period when someone watches and protects a place, often at night

is mainly for military standing watch rather than broader security assignments

sentry duty

vssentry go

Jargon

3 5.8

Standing guard at a place to watch for danger, usually in the military

is a different label for the same military standing watch period

How Active

patrol

253 3.2

sentry go

Archaic

9.7

lookout

29 2.7

Surface Forms

sentry go singular

sentry goes plural

Morphology

sentry + go

The meaning 'a period or duty of standing guard' is directly derivable by combining 'sentry' (guard) with the noun sense of 'go' meaning 'turn' or 'period' (as in "it's my go"). This is a straightforward compositional noun-noun pattern (sentry's turn/period) and therefore should be immediately understandable to a B1 learner who knows both constituent senses.

Etymology

The phrase sentry go comes from old military language: sentry means a guard and go once meant a 'turn' or 'period of duty'. So sentry go means the time when a guard must be on watch, in other words 'standing guard'.