police officer
Americannoun
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any policeman or policewoman; patrolman or patrolwoman.
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a person having officer rank on a police force.
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of police officer
First recorded in 1790–1800
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.
Memorable cinematic roles have included a corrupt police officer in the Harrison Ford thriller "Witness" and a comedy turn in Wes Anderson's eccentric "The Royal Tenenbaums," opposite Gene Hackman.
From Barron's • Jul. 1, 2026
"You could take the whole family to Barbados for that price," says Gallagher, who works as a police officer in North Yorkshire.
From BBC • Jun. 29, 2026
Every 30 seconds, he says, one of his Tasers is fired by somebody in the U.S., usually a police officer.
From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 28, 2026
A teen riding an electric motorcycle in an Orange County park learned a tough lesson after trying to go wheel to wheel against a police officer: motorcycle cops are very hard to outrun.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 26, 2026
But just to be sure, he feigned an excuse for the school police officer, who used to wrestle years ago and, as a result, liked Luke.
From "We'll Fly Away" by Bryan Bliss
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.
