police officer
Americannoun
-
any policeman or policewoman; patrolman or patrolwoman.
-
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
A 19-year-old police officer who died after she was hit by a car while on duty was closing a road following a previous crash, a coroner has said.
From BBC • Jun. 30, 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
Sentencing had been delayed for a re-trial on additional charges that Amaaz had also assaulted a male police officer, but the jury again failed to reach a decision and he was cleared.
From BBC • Jun. 26, 2026
As the girls struggled to answer all the questions of the smiling police officer, Jinjoo knew why she didn’t like him.
From "Finding Junie Kim" by Ellen Oh
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.
