Definition of SHERIFF

sheriff

Plural: sheriffs

Noun

  • A chief law-enforcement officer of a county.
  • the principal law-enforcement officer in a county
  • (High Sheriff) An official of a shire or county office, responsible for carrying out court orders, law enforcement and other duties.
  • A judge in the sheriff court, the court of a county or sheriffdom.
  • A government official, usually responsible for law enforcement in their county and for administration of the county jail, sometimes an officer of the court, usually elected.

Verb

  • To carry out the duties of a sheriff.

Examples

  • He needed to act like a SHERIFF, laying down the law with a high-scoring word to stop his opponent.

Origin / Etymology

From Middle English shirreve, from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour that has cognates in other languages including Hindi, Urdu, Portuguese, etc.

Scrabble Score: 16

sheriff: valid Scrabble (US) TWL Word
sheriff: valid Scrabble Word in Merriam-Webster MW Dictionary
sheriff: valid Scrabble Word in International Collins CSW Dictionary

Words With Friends Score: 15

sheriff: valid Words With Friends Word