I. mar ‧ shal 1 /ˈmɑːʃ ə l $ ˈmɑːr-/ BrE AmE noun [countable]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: mareschal ]
1 . an officer of the highest rank in the army or air force of some countries:
Marshal Zhukov
the Marshal of the Royal Air force
2 . an 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 marshal American English a police officer employed by the national government to make sure people do what a ↑ court order says they must do
5 . American English the officer in charge of a fire department
II. marshal 2 BrE AmE verb ( past tense and past participle marshalled , present participle marshalling British English , marshaled , marshaling American English ) [transitive]
1 . to organize your thoughts, ideas etc so that they are clear, effective, or easy to understand
marshal your thoughts/arguments etc
He paused for a moment as if to marshal his thoughts.
2 . to 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 . to control or organize a large group:
Ginny marshalled her guests in a better position.