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Special Branch

British  

noun

  1. (in Britain) the department of the police force that is concerned with political security

"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

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.

The police sergeant said he wanted to tell Ms Norhayati what happened, as he felt what the Special Branch did was wrong.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

Many speculated that the Special Branch was responsible.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

Its report also named a "main person of interest" - a senior Special Branch official, Awaludin bin Jadid, who headed the unit tackling social extremism.

From BBC • Dec. 26, 2025

Special Branch, which typically handles national security and intelligence in the U.K., “never bothered to prepare overseas trips,” relying instead on local security forces.

From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 29, 2025

As before, the reports by the Special Branch officers of our speeches were generally muddled.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

Definitions 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.