Gestapo

[guh-stah-poh, guh-shtah-poh]

noun

1. the German state secret police during the Nazi regime, organized in 1933 and notorious for its brutal methods and operations.

adjective

1. (sometimes lowercase),  of or resembling the Nazi Gestapo, especially in the brutal suppression of opposition.

   The new regime is using gestapo tactics.

Gestapo

/ ɡɛˈstɑːpəʊ, ɡeˈʃtaːpo /

noun

1. the secret state police in Nazi Germany, noted for its brutal methods of interrogation

Gestapo

1. The secret police of the Third Reich in Germany. The Gestapo operated against Germans suspected of treason by using brutal interrogation and torture; they instilled widespread fear by their terrorist methods.

Figuratively, any brutal secret police organization may be called a “gestapo.”

“Gestapo tactics” in general are intimidating official procedures.

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gestapo¹

< German Ge ( heime ) Sta ( ats ) po ( lizei )

Word History and Origins

Origin of Gestapo¹

from German Ge ( heime ) Sta ( ats ) po ( lizei ), literally: secret state police

Example Sentences

Reckzeh had been set up as a spy and agent provocateur by the Gestapo: Thadden had been fooled by his elaborately constructed cover story.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

To exert more leverage, the Gestapo picked up Senesh’s mother in Budapest and gave Senesh a stark choice: Release the codes or watch her mother die.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Among the evidence Antony's investigation has unearthed is a list made by the Gestapo, detailing specific artefacts and paintings which were seized from his relatives.

Read more on BBC

"These incidents come after months of smears and rhetoric by activists, politicians, and the media comparing ICE law enforcement to the Nazi Gestapo, kidnappers, and the Secret Police," a senior official said at the time.

Read more on BBC

The same file shows him referring to police as "frigging Nazis", "Gestapo" and "terrorist thugs".

Read more on BBC