All 7 Uses of
sentinel
in
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge
- Beyond one of the sentinels nobody was in sight; the railroad ran straight away into a forest for a hundred yards, then, curving, was lost to view.†
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- The sentinels, facing the banks of the stream, might have been statues to adorn the bridge.†
- He heard a second report, and saw one of the sentinels with his rifle at his shoulder, a light cloud of blue smoke rising from the muzzle.†
- The two sentinels fired again, independently and ineffectually.†
- A sentinel at each end of the bridge stood with his rifle in the position known as "support," that is to say, vertical in front of the left shoulder, the hammer resting on the forearm thrown straight across the chest—a formal and unnatural position, enforcing an erect carriage of the body.†
- Only a picket post half a mile out, on the railroad, and a single sentinel at this end of the bridge.†
- "Suppose a man—a civilian and student of hanging—should elude the picket post and perhaps get the better of the sentinel," said Farquhar, smiling, "what could he accomplish?"†
Definitions:
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(1)
(sentinel) a person who stands guard or looks out for something
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(2)
(meaning too rare to warrant focus) meaning too rare to warrant focus:
Much more rarely, sentinel can be used as a verb meaning to stand guard, or provide or post a guard; or to look out for something.
As a proper noun, Sentinel is sometimes used in the name of a newspaper to indicate that the newspaper is looking out for news the public would want.