police

American  

[puh-lees] / pəˈlis /

noun

1. Also called police force.  an organized civil force for maintaining order, preventing and detecting crime, and enforcing the laws.

2. (used with a plural verb) members of such a force.

   Several police are patrolling the neighborhood.

3. the regulation and control of a community, especially for the maintenance of public order, safety, health, morals, etc.

4. the department of the government concerned with this, especially with the maintenance of order.

5. any body of people officially maintained or employed to keep order, enforce regulations, etc.

6. people who seek to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc..

   the language police.

7. Military. (in the U.S. Army)

   1. the cleaning and keeping clean of a camp, post, station, etc.

   2. the condition of a camp, post, station, etc., with reference to cleanliness.

---

verb (used with object)

policed, policing

1. to regulate, control, or keep in order by or as if by means of police.

2. Military. to clean and keep clean (a camp, post, etc.)

police British  

/ pəˈliːs /

noun

1. 1. the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc

   2. ( as modifier )

      a police inquiry

2. (functioning as plural) the members of such a force collectively

3. any organized body with a similar function

   security police

4. archaic

   1. the regulation and control of a community, esp in regard to the enforcement of law, the prevention of crime, etc

   2. the department of government concerned with this

---

verb

1. to regulate, control, or keep in order by means of a police or similar force

2. to observe or record the activity or enforcement of

   a committee was set up to police the new agreement on picketing

3. to make or keep (a military camp, etc) clean and orderly

Pronunciation

Many English words exemplify the original stress rule of Old English and other early Germanic languages, according to which all parts of speech except unprefixed verbs were stressed on the first syllable, and prefixed verbs were stressed on the syllable immediately following the prefix. Although the scope of this rule has been greatly restricted by the incorporation into English of loanwords that exhibit other stress patterns, the rule has always remained operative to some degree, and many loanwords have been conformed to it throughout the history of English. For South Midland and Midland U.S. speakers in particular, shifting the stress in borrowed nouns from a noninitial syllable to the first syllable is still an active process, yielding for police and for Detroit, as well as cement, cigar, guitar, insurance, umbrella, and idea said as , , , , , and .

Other Word Forms

• overpolice verb (used with object)
• prepolice adjective
• unpoliced adjective
• well-policed adjective

Etymology

Origin of police

First recorded in 1520–30; from Middle French: “government, civil administration, police,” from Late Latin polītia “citizenship, government,” from Latin polītīa; polity

Example Sentences

The community colleges have proposed degrees in essential industries: field ironworker supervision at Cerritos College, modern police science at Porterville College, digital infrastructure at Santiago Canyon College and cloud computing at Santa Monica College.

From Los Angeles Times

The prosecution also told the court Doherty's official statement had not been taken by the police until 2021, despite her reporting it to the force on the night it happened.

From BBC

The arrests follow police activity in Broad Avenue in Evington on Tuesday morning as part of "planned enforcement" at an address.

From BBC

It was mostly young people of Afro-Caribbean descent living in poor communities who sang and listened to it in underground clubs that were often raided by the police.

From BBC

Kasia, the victim's daughter who was still living in Poland when Zablocka went missing, told police she believed her mother wanted to undergo gender reassignment surgery but could not afford to, Aspden said.

From BBC

Related Words

• force
• law enforcement
• squad
• troops