sheriff
n. countablen. an elected official in the United States who is in charge of the police in a specific county. In other countries, this person might have different duties related to the law or courts.
n. an elected officer in a county of the United States responsible for maintaining law and order. In the United Kingdom, the term refers to various administrative or judicial officials with specific historical or legal duties.
The sheriff wears a star-shaped badge on his shirt.
After the robbery, the local sheriff organized a search party to look for the suspects in the nearby woods.
While the city police handle urban crime, the sheriff's department maintains jurisdiction over the unincorporated areas of the county, providing essential law enforcement services to rural residents.
Inherited from Middle English shirreve, in turn inherited from Old English sċīrġerēfa, corresponding to shire + reeve. There is no etymological connection to Sharif (Arabic شَرِيف (šarīf)), an Arabic title of honour with cognates in other languages, including Persian, Punjabi, Bengali, Hindi, Urdu, Turkish, Spanish, Portuguese, etc.
Often used as a title before a surname, such as 'Sheriff Miller'.