Definition

Noun: A small, often freestanding, structure with an open front, designed to provide shelter from the weather for a sentry (a soldier or guard stationed to keep watch).

Usage

This term specifically refers to the physical shelter itself. It is used to describe the box or booth where a guard is posted. * The soldier stood watch from the sentry box at the gate. * A traditional red sentry box is a familiar sight outside some official buildings.

Advanced Usage

• The term can be used metaphorically to describe any small, isolated observation post or a position of solitary watchfulness, though this is less common.
  • The lighthouse keeper's cottage was his lonely sentry box against the sea.

Variants and Related Words

• Sentry: (noun) The guard who occupies the sentry box.
• Guardhouse: (noun) A larger building for guards, often where they are based, as opposed to a single small shelter.
• Watchtower: (noun) A tall tower from which observation is kept, typically larger and offering a wider view than a sentry box.

Synonyms

• Guard booth
• Watch box
• Sentry post (this can refer to the location or duty itself, not always a physical shelter)

Related Phrases/Idioms

• (To be) on sentry duty: To be performing the task of a sentry, which typically involves using a sentry box.
  • The new recruit was assigned to be on sentry duty from midnight until dawn.

Noun

1. a small shelter with an open front to protect a sentry from the weather