- present participle of police.
policing
Americannoun
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the act of maintaining public order and security, enforcing the law, or regulating or controlling something, by or as if by members of a police force.
No matter what style is adopted for the policing of a community, officers must use discretion in interpreting the activities of citizens.
Careful family use of the internet doesn't need to be a punitive policing of children's activities online.
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Military. the act of cleaning up a camp or post or of keeping it clean.
After the major’s visit, the policing of the entire camp and all the fighting positions improved 100 percent.
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of policing
First recorded in 1830–40; police ( def. ) + -ing 1 ( def. )
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.
Their demands vary, but they are united in wanting to make their often marginalised voices heard, sometimes even with radical methods in the face of heavy-handed policing.
From Barron's ● Oct. 23, 2026
“Certainly they share some similar values when it comes to policing, especially on the prosecutorial side. Gascón was, I think it’s fair to say, lenient with some of his prosecutorial decisions,” Saggau said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026
Macron also asked for the introduction of “new policing tactics on the ground as quickly as possible” to put an end to the violence.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 19, 2026
"I accept that PC Parsons felt isolated and disconnected from policing and her team working part time, returning from maternity leave, and working from home as she described," she said.
From BBC ● Oct. 18, 2026
There will be no "policing" of students our age.
From "You Bring the Distant Near" by Mitali Perkins
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Get a wordDefinitions 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.
