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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  

/ ˌkɒn-, ˈkʌnstəbəl /

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 Thames Valley Police says he will consider joining legal action to block the release of two of PC Andrew Harper's killers.

From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026

Stuart Hooper, an assistant chief constable at Essex Police, says it has been an "incredibly challenging" period for the force.

From BBC ● Aug. 2, 2026

Becky Riggs will remain as Staffordshire Police's acting chief constable.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

The chief constable of Staffordshire Police has resigned, ahead of a gross misconduct hearing regarding his behaviour.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

We sat with the dead man, ignoring the gawking crowd that had gathered, until a constable came and summoned a cart to bear the body away.

From "The Shakespeare Stealer" by Gary L. Blackwood

Assistant Chief Constable Charlie Doyle of British Transport Police also encouraged any potential survivors to step forward.

From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026

Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said he was "deeply sorry", conceding that "the information contained within these devices would have inspired further investigative action".

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff said the inquiry into Greer's offending had been "truly shocking"

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 2026

Assistant Chief Constable Lynn Ratcliff said the inquiry had been "truly shocking"

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 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

Chief constables have also recently announced that all forces will introduce mandatory recording of police officer suicides.

From BBC ● Jul. 29, 2026

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

It will be made up of an inspector, three sergeants and 45 constables.

From BBC ● Jul. 23, 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

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

From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan

Related Words

• detective
• patrolman
• policeman
• policewoman