police

[ puh-lees ]
See synonyms for: policepolicedpolicespolicing on Thesaurus.com

noun
  1. Also called police force. an organized civil force for maintaining order, preventing and detecting crime, and enforcing the laws.

  2. (used with a plural verb) members of such a force: Several police are patrolling the neighborhood.

  1. the regulation and control of a community, especially for the maintenance of public order, safety, health, morals, etc.

  2. the department of the government concerned with this, especially with the maintenance of order.

  3. any body of people officially maintained or employed to keep order, enforce regulations, etc.

  4. people who seek to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc.: the language police.

  5. Military. (in the U.S. Army)

    • the cleaning and keeping clean of a camp, post, station, etc.

    • the condition of a camp, post, station, etc., with reference to cleanliness.

verb (used with object),po·liced, po·lic·ing.
  1. to regulate, control, or keep in order by or as if by means of police.

  2. Military. to clean and keep clean (a camp, post, etc.)

Origin of police

1
First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French: “government, civil administration, police,” from Late Latin polītia “citizenship, government,” from Latin polītīa; see polity

pronunciation note For police

Many English words exemplify the original stress rule of Old English and other early Germanic languages, according to which all parts of speech except unprefixed verbs were stressed on the first syllable, and prefixed verbs were stressed on the syllable immediately following the prefix. Although the scope of this rule has been greatly restricted by the incorporation into English of loanwords that exhibit other stress patterns, the rule has always remained operative to some degree, and many loanwords have been conformed to it throughout the history of English. For South Midland and Midland U.S. speakers in particular, shifting the stress in borrowed nouns from a noninitial syllable to the first syllable is still an active process, yielding [poh-lees] /ˈpoʊ lis/ for police and [dee-troit] /ˈdi trɔɪt/ for Detroit, as well as cement, cigar, guitar, insurance, umbrella, and idea said as [see-ment], /ˈsi mɛnt/, [see-gahr], /ˈsi gɑr/, [git-ahr], /ˈgɪt ɑr/, [in-shoor-uhns], /ˈɪn ʃʊər əns/, [uhm-brel-uh], /ˈʌm brɛl ə/, and [ahy-deeuh]. /ˈaɪ diə/.

Other words from police

  • o·ver·po·lice, verb (used with object), o·ver·po·liced, o·ver·po·lic·ing.
  • pre·po·lice, adjective
  • un·po·liced, adjective
  • well-po·liced, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use police in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for police

police

/ (pəˈliːs) /


noun
    • the police the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc

    • (as modifier): a police inquiry

  1. (functioning as plural) the members of such a force collectively

  1. any organized body with a similar function: security police

  2. archaic

    • the regulation and control of a community, esp in regard to the enforcement of law, the prevention of crime, etc

    • the department of government concerned with this

verb(tr)
  1. to regulate, control, or keep in order by means of a police or similar force

  2. to observe or record the activity or enforcement of: a committee was set up to police the new agreement on picketing

  1. US to make or keep (a military camp, etc) clean and orderly

Origin of police

1
C16: via French from Latin polītīa administration, government; see polity

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012