police power
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of police power
An Americanism dating back to 1820–30
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.
They were not claiming the state’s police power for themselves but acting as though they already had a legitimate claim to ensuring the entire community’s safety.
From Slate ● Jul. 27, 2026
President Theodore Roosevelt, in 1904, said it gave the US "international police power" to intervene in countries where there was "wrongdoing".
From BBC ● Jan. 24, 2026
“If Tennessee wishes to exercise its police power in restricting speech it considers obscene, it must do so within the constraints and framework of the United States Constitution,” Judge Parker wrote in the order.
From New York Times ● Mar. 31, 2023
“Historically, when we grant police power or discretion or advanced technologies, they tend to be used in many more situations.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 21, 2022
A new element enters the problem, however, which lends some added weight to the claims of the police power, the fact, namely, that motor vehicles use highways furnished and maintained by the State.
From The Constitution of the United States of America: Analysis and Interpretation Annotations of Cases Decided by the Supreme Court of the United States to June 30, 1952 by Edward Samuel Corwin
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
