This is the 8063rd most frequent Portuguese word.
sentinela
"Sentinela" means "sentinel" or "guard," referring to someone or something that watches or protects.
A sentinela acts as a noun here representing a guard or watchman stationed to watch or protect.
A sentinela vigiava o castelo durante a noite.
The sentinel watched over the castle during the night.
Here, sentinela directly refers to an individual assigned the role of monitoring and guarding, emphasizing its practical use as a guard.
Eles posicionaram uma sentinela na entrada para monitorar o fluxo de pessoas.
They placed a sentinel at the entrance to monitor the flow of people.
In this sentence, sentinela metaphorically refers to someone who safeguards or maintains something, in this case best practices.