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• constable
  constable

  noun

  an officer of the peace, having police and minor judicial functions, usually in a small town, rural district, etc.
• Constable
  Constable

  noun

  John, 1776–1837, English painter.

constable

¹ American  

[kon-stuh-buhl, kuhn-] / ˈkɒn stə bəl, ˈkʌn- /

noun

• constables
  plural

1. an officer of the peace, having police and minor judicial functions, usually in a small town, rural district, etc.

2. Chiefly British. a police officer.

3. an officer of high rank in medieval monarchies, usually the commander of all armed forces, especially in the absence of the ruler.

4. the keeper or governor of a royal fortress or castle.

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Constable ² American  

[kuhn-stuh-buhl, kon-] / ˈkʌn stə bəl, ˈkɒn- /

noun

1. John, 1776–1837, English painter.

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constable ¹ British  

/ ˈkʌnstəbəl, ˌkɒn- /

noun

1. (in Britain, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, etc) a police officer of the lowest rank

2. any of various officers of the peace, esp one who arrests offenders, serves writs, etc

3. the keeper or governor of a royal castle or fortress

4. (in medieval Europe) the chief military officer and functionary of a royal household, esp in France and England

5. an officer of a hundred in medieval England, originally responsible for raising the military levy but later assigned other administrative duties

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Constable ² British  

/ ˈkʌnstəbəl /

noun

1. John. 1776–1837, English landscape painter, noted particularly for his skill in rendering atmospheric effects of changing light

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• constableship
  noun
• underconstable
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• constables
  plural

Etymology

Origin of constable

1200–50; Middle English conestable < Anglo-French, Old French < Late Latin comes stabulī count ² of the stable ¹

Explanation

A small-town police officer is sometimes known as a constable. If you live in an extremely tiny town, the constable may show up at your door when you dial 9-1-1 for help with a raccoon stuck in your chimney. In Britain and Canada, a constable is the lowest-ranking officer in a police force. It's less common in the U.S., and the word's exact meaning varies a bit from state to state. In some places, a constable is only authorized to serve subpoenas to people who are required to testify in court. Other constables have full law enforcement powers. The Latin root of constable is comes stabuli, "attendant to the stables."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

constable Constable constables

The chief constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson, is due to speak at the memorial event.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Rikki Hall, 33, from Swansea and who worked as a constable for South Wales Police, attended Bristol Magistrates' Court on Thursday.

From BBC ● Aug. 27, 2026

Special constable Jack Warner is part of a team targeting rural areas.

From BBC ● Aug. 20, 2026

Assistant chief constable Julie Dean said: "We will not stand by and allow violence to take place, whether that is directed towards members of the public, local residents or police officers carrying out their duties."

From BBC ● Aug. 6, 2026

The judge sighed wearily and motioned him out of the courtroom and crooked his fingers at the constable.

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

Other speakers at the memorial service include Alan Levy, who helped barricade the doors against the attacker, and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson.

From BBC ● Aug. 31, 2026

Chief Constable Victoria Fuller said on Saturday it was an "incredibly sad day for Cleveland", adding: "No one should leave their home and not return safely."

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell said it was "a deeply concerning war between rivals".

From BBC ● Aug. 23, 2026

Police Scotland Chief Constable Jo Farrell said it was "a deeply concerning war between rivals" that had eventually come to an end for multiple reasons.

From BBC ● Aug. 22, 2026

What’s more, unlike the paintings bequeathed to posterity by Constable or Rembrandt, his music has not ossified, frozen for ever in time.

From "The Story of Music" by Howard Goodall

Long before modern professional police forces, public order depended on watches, constables, alarms, and forms of compelled or expected community response.

From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026

Badat worked on a challenge to DeSoto County districts that were used for the county’s board of supervisors, school board, election commission, county constables and their judges.

From Salon ● May 16, 2026

Special constables are volunteer police officers with the same powers, responsibilities and uniform as a regular officer.

From BBC ● Mar. 26, 2026

The federation represents more than 145,000 rank-and-file officers, up to and including the rank of chief inspector as well as special constables.

From BBC ● Mar. 9, 2026

One of the constables got in the driver’s seat.

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• detective
• patrolman
• policeman
• policewoman