cops and robbers

American  

noun

1. a children's game in which a group of players imitate the behavior of police and of thieves, as in pursuing and capturing.

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Etymology

Origin of cops and robbers

First recorded in 1900–05

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

cops and robbers

But this isn’t a case about cops and robbers.

From Slate ● Jul. 1, 2026

On the available training data, "we average less than one percent errors," Van Calster said -- although "there's a kind of cops and robbers race that's never going to stop" as the fakers' technology improves.

From Barron's ● Jun. 18, 2026

Until then, we’ll have to endure him playing a few more rounds of cops and robbers.

From Salon ● May 27, 2026

His sister Angela Climax, who also goes by Aisha Muhammad, said she would follow him around as a child and the pair would play cops and robbers.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 22, 2026

“Which was it, by truck or by cart?” the children sometimes asked her on their way to play cops and robbers in the alley.

From "Interpreter of Maladies" by Jhumpa Lahiri