police
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.
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.)
Origin of police
1pronunciation note For police
Other words from police
- o·ver·po·lice, verb (used with object), o·ver·po·liced, o·ver·po·lic·ing.
- pre·po·lice, adjective
- un·po·liced, adjective
- well-po·liced, adjective
Words Nearby police
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024
How to use police in a sentence
Moreno said the major told him he summoned him to the police station “to alert me that I can face four charges for his publications.”
Cuban authorities threaten to arrest LGBTQ activist, journalist | Michael K. Lavers | September 17, 2020 | Washington BladeInjunctions ban individuals from being around anyone else the police deem gang members even if neither has a criminal record.
While We’re Rethinking Policing, It’s Time to End Gang Injunctions | Jamie Wilson | September 15, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoThere’s no current timeline on when the next chief of police will be hired, Lorson said.
Oceanside Is Rethinking Its Police Chief Hiring Process Following Community Concerns | Kayla Jimenez | September 14, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoIn recent weeks, though, Nucci has been interviewing people who’ve received a ticket and they all claim they were cited after saying something an officer found personally offensive — usually about the police and sometimes quietly to themselves.
Morning Report: Punished for Pissing Off Police | Voice of San Diego | September 10, 2020 | Voice of San DiegoIn both cases, police appear to have stretched the law far beyond its intended use.
Those Ticketed for Seditious Language Say Their Only Crime Was Talking Back | Kate Nucci | September 9, 2020 | Voice of San Diego
police officials told the AP that they came out with guns blazing.
Yves Albarello, MP of Seine-et-Marne, said the gunmen told police they were ready to “die as martyrs.”
Smith attended both funerals as a cop and as the husband of police Officer Moira Smith, who died on 9/11.
But along with the cartoon funk is an all-too-real story of police brutality embodied by a horde of evil Pigs.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical | Stereo Williams | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEAST“The Wizard of Watts is not just about police brutality,” he says.
‘Black Dynamite’ Presents Police Brutality: The Musical | Stereo Williams | January 9, 2015 | THE DAILY BEASTIf Mac had been alone he would have made the post by sundown, for the Mounted police rode picked horses, the best money could buy.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairIt happened that I didn't stay around those police posts long enough to get familiar with the technical terms for everything.
Raw Gold | Bertrand W. SinclairAristide picked it up and began to dance and shake his fist at the invisible police.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. Locke“To say that you would have more sense than the police, would be a poor compliment,” said the old lady.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. LockeA less imaginative man than Aristide would have immediately acquainted the police with his discovery.
The Joyous Adventures of Aristide Pujol | William J. Locke
British Dictionary definitions for police
/ (pəˈliːs) /
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 function: security 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
to regulate, control, or keep in order by means of a police or similar force
to observe or record the activity or enforcement of: a committee was set up to police the new agreement on picketing
US to make or keep (a military camp, etc) clean and orderly
Origin of police
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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