enforcer

[en-fawr-ser, -fohr-]

noun

1. a person or thing that enforces.

2. the member of a group, especially of a gang, charged with keeping dissident members obedient.

3. a person, especially a public official, who enforces laws, regulations, rules, or the like.

4. Also called policeman. Ice Hockey.,  a physically intimidating or willingly belligerent player who is counted on to retaliate when rough tactics are used by the opposing team.

Word History and Origins

Origin of enforcer¹

First recorded in 1570–80; enforce + -er ¹

Example Sentences

Party enforcers have taken down scores of senior officials as part of Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s disciplinary purges.

Read more on Wall Street Journal

During the war, the number of dissidents murdered by Hamas’s Arrow Unit enforcers has increased sharply, their bodies dumped in the street or delivered to the front door of their families.

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Occupying the grey space between the enforcer and whatever Donald is up to is Tracy Letts’ Frank Martin, a local construction magnate buying up Black businesses at a clip that has tripped Lee’s internal alarm.

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Lawyers representing controversial websites 4chan and Kiwi Farms have filed a legal case against the UK Online Safety Act enforcer Ofcom.

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Was an effective enforcer in the first Test but injury claimed him thereafter.

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Related Words

• assassin 
• executioner