enforcer
Americannoun
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a person or thing that enforces.
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the member of a group, especially of a gang, charged with keeping dissident members obedient.
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a person, especially a public official, who enforces laws, regulations, rules, or the like.
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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.
Etymology
Origin of enforcer
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
A former military officer in the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Ali Larijani leads Iran’s most powerful security body, the Supreme National Security Council, and is Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei’s chief diplomatic fixer and enforcer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 1, 2026
Vietnam's ruling Communist Party "unanimously" re-elected To Lam as general secretary on Friday, confirming the former security enforcer as the country's top leader for the next five years and backing his vision for growth-oriented change.
From Barron's • Jan. 23, 2026
Batty was more than a mere enforcer, however.
From BBC • Jan. 7, 2026
Now a new film follows the life of Jones, described by one US law enforcer as the "best conman" he had ever come across.
From BBC • Dec. 31, 2025
In the beginning, the chief was all-powerful and ruled the village with his enforcer soldiers.
From "First They Killed My Father: A Daughter of Cambodia Remembers" by Loung Ung
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.
