police
/pəˈliːs/ noun, verb
Forms polices policing policed
- noun (law enforcement) A constituted body of officers representing the civil authority of government, empowered to maintain public order and safety, enforce the law, and prevent, detect, and investigate crime. “Call the police!”
- noun (Canada, US and historical) A department of local (usually municipal) government responsible for general law enforcement. “The Cook County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction across most of Chicago but focuses on the unincorporated area and tasks like prisoner transport, leaving the rest to the Chicago Police Department.”
- noun (UK) A branch of the Home Office responsible for general law enforcement within a specific territory. “Scotland Yard is, technically speaking, only the metropolitan police for Greater London but because of their importance they have special jurisdiction for some crimes across the United Kingdom.”
- noun (Australia, New Zealand) Any of the formally enacted law enforcement agencies at various levels of government.
- noun (usually plural only) The staff of such a department or agency, particularly its officers; (regional, chiefly US, Caribbean, Jamaica, Scotland, countable) an individual police officer.
- noun (figuratively, usually ironic and mildly derogatory) People who try to enforce norms or standards as if granted authority similar to the police. “Who called the fashion police?”
- noun (military, slang) Cleanup of a military facility, as a formal duty.
- noun (archaic, now rare) Synonym of administration, the regulation of a community or society.
- verb (transitive) To enforce the law and keep order among (a group). “Extra security was hired to police the crowd at the big game.”
- verb (ambitransitive, military, slang) To clean up an area.
- verb (transitive, figurative) To enforce norms or standards upon.
Synonyms
administration police officer 5-O Babylon bacon Big Blue Machine Bill boydem constabulary dibble donut patrol ducks and geese ecilop esclop feds force filth five-o fuzz garda police force law patrol
Etymology
From Middle French police, from Latin polītīa (“state, government”), from Ancient Greek πολιτεία (politeía). Doublet of policy, polis (“police”), and polity.
Webster’s 1913
- noun A judicial and executive system, for the government of a city, town, or district, for the preservation of rights, order, cleanliness, health, etc., and for the enforcement of the laws and prevention of crime; the administration of the laws and regulations of a city, incorporated town, or borough.
- noun That which concerns the order of the community; the internal regulation of a state.
- verb To keep in order by police.
- verb To make clean; as, to police a camp.
Etymology [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]
Sources: Wiktionary · WordNet 3.0 · Webster’s 1913 — from the Wiktionary entry “police”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details