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Scotland Yard

American  

noun

  1. a short street in central London, England: formerly the site of the London police headquarters, which were removed 1890 to a Thames embankment (New Scotland Yard ).

  2. the metropolitan police of London, especially the branch engaged in crime detection.

Scotland Yard British  

noun

  1. Official name: New Scotland Yard.  the headquarters of the police force of metropolitan London, controlled directly by the British Home Office and hence having certain national responsibilities

"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

Etymology

Origin of Scotland Yard

First recorded in 1860–65

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.