United States Border Patrol
1
3.9
- proper noun
- /juˈnaɪtɪd steɪts ˈbɔrdər pəˈtrɔl/
:
Patrulla Fronteriza de los Estados Unidos
- Agents of the United States Border Patrol use drones to monitor remote areas along the border.
Examples
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The United States Border Patrol apprehended several undocumented immigrants last night.
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Did the United States Border Patrol increase their presence along the southern border?
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After joining the United States Border Patrol, she was assigned to patrol the southern border.
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The United States Border Patrol apprehended several individuals attempting to cross the border illegally.
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The United States Border Patrol uses advanced technology to monitor remote areas.
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The United States Border Patrol is tasked with preventing illegal immigration across the country.
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During a recent operation, the United States Border Patrol apprehended dozens of individuals trying to enter the country illegally.
Synonyms
41
3.8
A group of officers who watch and protect a country's border to stop illegal crossings
1
3.8
A United States government agency that finds and stops people entering the country without permission
Surface Forms
Morphology
united + state + border + patrol
The meaning is directly compositional: 'United States' names the country, and 'border patrol' clearly denotes a unit that patrols a boundary, so together they denote the agency that patrols the U.S. border. This is a straightforward institutional noun phrase pattern found cross-linguistically, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent words would reliably infer the meaning.
Etymology
United States Border Patrol is a very literal name: United States shows it belongs to the country's government, border is the line between countries, and patrol means to move along a place to 'watch' it. So the name tells you this group watches the country's borders and acts 'to stop' people who try to cross without permission.