secret police

American

noun

a police force that functions as the enforcement arm of a government's political policies and whose activities, which often include surveillance, intimidation, and physical violence as a means of suppressing dissent, are usually concealed from the public.

secret police British

noun

a police force that operates relatively secretly to check subversion or political dissent

"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

Etymology

Origin of secret police

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

And critics claimed the company’s “Service Department,” designed to see that workers remained “sober and industrious,” was nothing more than a secret police force.

From Barron's • May 20, 2026

Rivas was the personal secretary for Chile's infamous secret police chief Manuel Contreras from 1973 to 1976.

From BBC • Apr. 7, 2026

From 2014 to 2018, Mr. González López headed the secret police.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 17, 2026

Tricia McLaughlin, the DHS assistant secretary for public affairs, refuted descriptions of ICE as a secret police force.

From Salon • Oct. 24, 2025

On her face was the panicked look she had worn ever since they had arrived in New York three months ago after a narrow escape from the secret police.

From "How the García Girls Lost Their Accents" by Julia Alvarez

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023