Definitions for police
pəˈlis; ˈpoʊ lis; ˈdi trɔɪt; ˈsi mɛnt; ˈsi gɑr; ˈgɪt ɑr; ˈɪn ʃʊər əns; ˈʌm brɛl ə; ˈaɪ diəpo·lice

Wiktionary(5.00 / 1 vote)Rate this definition:

1. policenoun

   Policy.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

2. policenoun

   Communal living; civilization.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

3. policenoun

   The regulation of a given community or society; administration, law and order etc.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

4. policenoun

   A civil force granted the legal authority to enforce the law and maintain public order.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

5. policenoun

   A police officer.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

6. policeverb

   To enforce the law and keep order among (a group).

   Extra security was hired to police the crowd at the big game.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

7. policeverb

   To patrol an area.

   Etymology: From police, from politia, from πολιτεία.

Princeton's WordNet(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. police, police force, constabulary, lawverb

   the force of policemen and officers

   "the law came looking for him"

2. patrol, policeverb

   maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol

Webster Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Policenoun

   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

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

2. Policenoun

   that which concerns the order of the community; the internal regulation of a state

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

3. Policenoun

   the organized body of civil officers in a city, town, or district, whose particular duties are the preservation of good order, the prevention and detection of crime, and the enforcement of the laws

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

4. Policenoun

   military police, the body of soldiers detailed to preserve civil order and attend to sanitary arrangements in a camp or garrison

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

5. Policenoun

   the cleaning of a camp or garrison, or the state / a camp as to cleanliness

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

6. Policeverb

   to keep in order by police

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

7. Policeverb

   to make clean; as, to police a camp

   Etymology: [F., fr. L. politia the condition of a state, government, administration, Gr. , fr. to be a citizen, to govern or administer a state, fr. citizen, fr. city; akin to Skr. pur, puri. Cf. Policy polity, Polity.]

Freebase(3.00 / 2 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Police

   The police are a constituted body of persons empowered by the state to enforce the law, protect property, and limit civil disorder. Their powers include the legitimized use of force. The term is most commonly associated with police services of a state that are authorized to exercise the police power of that state within a defined legal or territorial area of responsibility. Police forces are often defined as being separate from military or other organizations involved in the defense of the state against foreign aggressors; however, gendarmerie are military units charged with civil policing. Law enforcement, however, constitutes only part of policing activity. Policing has included an array of activities in different situations, but the predominant ones are concerned with the preservation of order. In some societies, in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, these developed within the context of maintaining the class system and the protection of private property. Some parts of the world may suffer from police corruption. Alternative names for police force include constabulary, gendarmerie, police department, police service, crime prevention, protective services, law enforcement agency, civil guard or civic guard. Members may be referred to as police officers, troopers, sheriffs, constables, rangers, peace officers or civic/civil guards. Police of the Soviet-era Eastern Europe were called the militsiya. The Irish police are called the Garda Síochána; a police officer is called a garda. And although the word "police" comes from Greek, the Greek police is Αστυνομία.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Police

   pō-lēs′, n. the system of regulations of a city, town, or district for the preservation of order and enforcement of law: the internal government of a state: (short for Police′-force) the civil officers employed to preserve order, &c.—v.t. to guard or maintain order in: to put in order.—n.pl. Police′-commiss′ioners, a body of men appointed to regulate the appointments and duties of the police.—ns. Police′-inspect′or, a superior officer of police who has charge of a department, next in rank to a superintendent; Police′-mag′istrate, one who presides in a police court; Police′man, a member of a police-force; Police′-off′ice, -stā′tion, the headquarters of the police of a district, used also as a temporary place of confinement; Police′-off′icer, -con′stable, a policeman; Police′-rate, a tax levied for the support of the police.—Police court, a court for trying small offences brought before it by the police. [Fr.,—L. politia—Gr. politeia, the condition of a state—politēs, a citizen—polis, a city.]

The Roycroft Dictionary(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. police

   Similia similibus.

U.S. National Library of Medicine(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Police

   Agents of the law charged with the responsibility of maintaining law and order among the citizenry.

Military Dictionary and Gazetteer(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. police

   The cleaning of a camp or garrison; the state of a camp in regard to cleanliness.

Etymology and Origins(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Police

   The appropriate designation of civil guardians of the peace, from the Greek polis, city.

Matched Categories

1. • Guard

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'police' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #304

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'police' in Written Corpus Frequency: #483

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'police' in Nouns Frequency: #95

How to pronounce police?

1. Alex

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

How to say police in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of police in Chaldean Numerology is: 9

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of police in Pythagorean Numerology is: 6

Examples of police in a Sentence

1. Bernie Ecclestone:

   I dont have all the facts but given all the security at the house, Im assuming it was an inside job, the police should be able to work it out, shouldnt they?

2. Capitol Hill:

   Intimate photos of me and another individual were published by Republican operatives on the internet without my consent, i have notified Capitol Hill police who are investigating the situation and potential legal violations of those who posted and distributed the photos, and therefore will have no further comment on the digital materials.

3. Francisco Marte:

   It should be the job of the police, i tell the employees, keep your distance and wear your mask but don’t put yourself in danger because we are the ones who lose.

4. The LBC:

   It was at that moment, outside of the Delta Upsilon Fraternity house, that while police were attempting to de-escalate the situation, members of the fraternity began recording the interaction, as well as shouting a variety of obscenities at the Committee, these obscenities included, but are not limited to ‘Mizzou PC, C**ts, B****es, [N*****s],’ with a plethora of other micro-aggressions.

5. Pereira da Silva:

   Sometimes we feel intimidated, just going out into the hall, we are obligated to bow our heads or say hello to police officers.

Images & Illustrations of police

Popularity rank by frequency of use