From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmarshalmar‧shal1 /ˈmɑːʃəl $ ˈmɑːr-/ noun [countable] 1 PMan officer of the highest rank in the army or air force of some countries Marshal Zhukov the Marshal of the Royal Air Force2 PGOan official in charge of an important public event or ceremony Heston has been named grand marshal of the parade.3 a person who controls crowds, traffic etc at a sports event or other public event I could see a marshal on the finish line waving a yellow flag.4 → federal/US marshal5 American EnglishSSO the officer in charge of a fire department
Examples from the Corpus
marshal• At the end of the walk a marshal will sign your form.• You may possibly have the chance of being marshal to a judge; if so, of course jump at it.• Joining the royal curia, he then became knight-deputy to the earl marshal and marshal of the household.• a federal marshal• Governor Ross Barnett of Mississippi did not want federal marshals to displace his authority.• the fire marshal• Charlton Heston was the grand marshal of the Hollywood Christmas Parade.grand marshal• The 1997 grand marshals are Rev.• The Stanley Cup parade was going to last for weeks, and he would be the grand marshal.marshalmarshal2 verb (marshalled, marshalling British English, marshaled, marshaling American English) [transitive] 1 ORGANIZEto organize your thoughts, ideas etc so that they are clear, effective, or easy to understandmarshal your thoughts/arguments etc He paused for a moment as if to marshal his thoughts.2 ORGANIZEto organize all the people or things that you need in order to be ready for a battle, election etc The general marshalled his forces for a major offensive. Senator Bryant attempted to marshal support for the measure.3 ORGANIZEto control or organize a large group The teacher marshalled the children into one group.→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
marshal• But generally the home defence were superbly marshalled by Kenny Rutherford.• He seemed unable or unwilling to marshal even what he knew on the page.• Table 5.4 summarizes the main evidence marshalled in support of her causal theory of social revolution.• Under the experimental onslaught being marshalled, most expect the 17 keV neutrino to wither and die.• Raia is a city police officer who marshaled support for the bill.• Organizations are creating teams to marshal the resources of this diverse, sometimes motley workforce.• And to add to the horrors of the scene, the elements of heaven marshalled their forces...marshal your thoughts/arguments etc• A bit nervously, he sat down with pen and paper to marshal his thoughts.• Breathing in deeply, she tried to marshal her thoughts.• Slow down, marshal your thoughts and don't start speaking before you've got your brain in gear.• Very carefully Mrs. Fanshawe marshalled her thoughts and her memories.• She tried to marshal her thoughts, but they skittered wildly.• He must have seen her marshalling her arguments, for he gave her no time to use them.• She felt unable to marshal her thoughts into a semblance of logic.• Well, I have now marshalled my thoughts, summoning memories from that summer over seventy years ago.marshalled ... forces• And to add to the horrors of the scene, the elements of heaven marshalled their forces...Origin marshal1 (1200-1300) Old French mareschal 