constabulary
1 Americannoun
-
constabularies
plural
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the body of constables of a district.
-
a body of officers of the peace organized on a military basis.
adjective
noun
adjective
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of constabulary1
1350–1400; < Medieval Latin constabulāria, feminine of constabulārius constabulary 2; replacing Middle English constablerie < Old French < Medieval Latin as above
Origin of constabulary2
1815–25; < Medieval Latin constabulārius; see constable, -ary
Explanation
You can refer to a police force as a constabulary. If your mother and your grandfather were both police officers, you might want to follow the family tradition and join the constabulary as well. You're most likely to use this word if you live in the United Kingdom, where police officers are known as constables and individual county police forces are often called constabularies. In the U.S., the term is reserved for specially assembled forces, like the ones established in foreign countries following wars — the U.S. constabulary in Germany after World War II is one example.
Vocabulary lists containing constabulary
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"Our hearts, thoughts and prayers go out to our colleagues in the constabulary, local communities and the people who have worked extremely hard in very difficult circumstances."
From BBC ● Dec. 29, 2025
"I hope that our case will highlight failings within the constabulary and the chief constable will ensure that this never happens again."
From BBC ● Nov. 16, 2025
Det Supt Haskins said while the teenagers - who were unknown to them - tried to evade the police, they used "all the powers and the force of the constabulary" to catch them.
From BBC ● Dec. 20, 2024
“In the meantime, I would like to assure residents and criminals alike that the constabulary will be operating as normal, keeping our residents safe, and preventing and detecting crime.”
From BBC ● Oct. 7, 2024
Know, however, that he was discovered by the constabulary, and straightway such an outcry was never heard in Alexandria.
From Saul of Tarsus A Tale of the Early Christians by Elizabeth Miller
Brown told the BBC last week that he had "submitted a five-page memorandum to the Metropolitan, Surrey, Sussex Thames Valley and other relevant UK police constabularies".
From BBC ● Feb. 22, 2026
Partly it's because some constabularies have an institutional distrust of the private sector, made more acute by G4S's security failings during the Olympics.
From BBC ● Nov. 19, 2015
The Guardian approached the remaining police forces in England and Wales, as well as constabularies in Scotland and Northern Ireland, none of whom are currently investigating allegations, fresh or historical, into Heath.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 6, 2015
Police commissioners were invented by the current government with the admirable motive of making constabularies accountable to their local communities.
From The Guardian ● Sep. 20, 2014
These laws appear based upon the idea of common good, and to have been supported by the "posse comitatus" before standing armies or state constabularies were formed.
From Landholding in England by Joseph Fisher
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
