police

[ puh-lees ]

/ pəˈlis /

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See synonyms for: police / policed / polices / policing on Thesaurus.com

noun

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

(used with a plural verb) members of such a force: Several police are patrolling the neighborhood.

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

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

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

people who seek to regulate a specified activity, practice, etc.: the language police.

Military. (in the U.S. Army)

the cleaning and keeping clean of a camp, post, station, etc.
the condition of a camp, post, station, etc., with reference to cleanliness.

verb (used with object), po·liced, po·lic·ing.

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

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

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His boss, whom he admires, is waiting to meet with him about the big project.

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Origin of police

1520–30; <Middle French: government, civil administration, police <Late Latin polītia citizenship, government, for Latin polītīa;see polity

how to pronounce police

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

[poh-lees] /ˈpoʊ lis/ for police and

[dee-troit] /ˈdi trɔɪt/ for Detroit, as well as cement, cigar, guitar, insurance, umbrella, and idea said as

[see-ment], /ˈsi mɛnt/,

[see-gahr], /ˈsi gɑr/,

[git-ahr], /ˈgɪt ɑr/,

[in-shoor-uhns], /ˈɪn ʃʊər əns/,

[uhm-brel-uh], /ˈʌm brɛl ə/, and

[ahy-deeuh]. /ˈaɪ diə/.

OTHER WORDS FROM police

o·ver·po·lice, verb (used with object), o·ver·po·liced, o·ver·po·lic·ing.pre·po·lice, adjectiveself-po·lic·ing, adjectiveun·po·liced, adjective

well-po·liced, adjective

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use police in a sentence

The driver told police he heard gunshots and discovered the damage when he arrived home.
Man fatally shot in Truxton Circle in Northwest Washington|Peter Hermann|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
According to an affidavit from a Fairfax County detective, the investigation began last year, when a 17-year-old high school student approached local police to say friends of hers had been paid to have sex with a man in his 40s.
Matthew Erasquin, Arlington lawyer, accused of paying underage girls for sex|Rachel Weiner|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
He was being closely followed by a police vehicle in an alley when he emerged onto a street and was fatally struck by a van.
Federal prosecutors will not press charges against D.C. officer who fatally shot 18-year-old Deon Kay|Keith L. Alexander, Peter Hermann|November 20, 2020|Washington Post
The funding could help investigators reopen as many as 60 cold cases over the next three years, Prince George’s prosecutors and police said at a news conference Thursday.
Prince George’s will use DNA registries to solve cold cases through new DOJ grant|Katie Mettler|November 19, 2020|Washington Post

Counterdemonstrators also attended, with the two sides engaged in yelling and fights that police were forced to break up.
Smithsonian museums, zoo to close as coronavirus caseload in D.C. region hits record for 16th day|Dana Hedgpeth, Ovetta Wiggins|November 19, 2020|Washington Post
The need for increased community policing is more urgent than ever before.
How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Community policing is expensive and, in an era of budget cuts, increasingly rare.
How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
If we want that to change, then all of us have to encourage our legislators to make funding community policing a priority.
How to Solve the Policing Crisis|Keli Goff|January 5, 2015|DAILY BEAST
In the wake of this turmoil, the New York Post reported that the police had stopped policing.
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
Does that mean a reduction in policing would be a good thing?
Ground Zero of the NYPD Slowdown|Batya Ungar-Sargon|January 1, 2015|DAILY BEAST
We worked hard "policing up" ourselves and our equipment during the few days we stayed at Bouligny.
War in the Garden of Eden|Kermit Roosevelt
They were both on the policing shift that week, so it was easy for them to arrange to get their share of camp-work over early.
Winona of the Camp Fire|Margaret Widdemer
And so the policing of the western country from Fort Gibson went on and on.
Fort Gibson|Grant Foreman
There were local bands of regulators policing nearly every district in Alabama.
Civil War and Reconstruction in Alabama|Walter L. Fleming
The dinner hour had passed, likewise the second policing of the day had been attended to by the humble plebes.
On Guard|Upton Sinclair

British Dictionary definitions for police

police

/ (pəˈliːs) /

noun

the police the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc
(as modifier)a police inquiry

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

any organized body with a similar functionsecurity police

archaic

the regulation and control of a community, esp in regard to the enforcement of law, the prevention of crime, etc
the department of government concerned with this

verb (tr)

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

to observe or record the activity or enforcement ofa committee was set up to police the new agreement on picketing

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

Word Origin for police

C16: via French from Latin polītīa administration, government; see polity

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

police

Origin of police

how to pronounce police

OTHER WORDS FROM police

Words related to police

How to use police in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for police

Word Origin for police