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Synonyms

police force

American  
[puh-lees fawrs] / pəˈlis ˌfɔrs /

noun

  • police forces
    plural
  1. Often the force or the Force the police, an organized civil force for enforcing laws.


Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

Etymology

Origin of police force

First recorded in 1830–40

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.

See Examples For:

Jagannathan’s character belongs to an ancient, shape-shifting race created by the Guardians of the Universe as the galaxy’s first police force, but they’ve since gone rogue and are now out to eliminate the human race.

From Los Angeles Times Sep. 14, 2026

PC Blades taught English at Carmel College in Darlington before joining the police force.

From BBC Sep. 9, 2026

Any citizen who steps out of line risks the ire of an even dumber police force, riding around in cruisers that lift their design language from Ed Hardy clothing.

From Salon Sep. 6, 2026

Bill Scott, chief of Metro’s in-house police force, said security perimeters have not yet been set for SoFi and other 2028 venues.

From Los Angeles Times Aug. 27, 2026

But even in Los Angeles, a city notorious for bad policing, crime fell at about the same rate as it did in New York once the growth in New York’s police force is accounted for.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt

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