Definitions for policy
ˈpɒl ə sipol·i·cy

Princeton's WordNet(4.00 / 6 votes)Rate this definition:

1. policy(noun)

   a plan of action adopted by an individual or social group

   "it was a policy of retribution"; "a politician keeps changing his policies"

2. policy(noun)

   a line of argument rationalizing the course of action of a government

   "they debated the policy or impolicy of the proposed legislation"

3. policy, insurance policy, insurance(noun)

   written contract or certificate of insurance

   "you should have read the small print on your policy"

Webster Dictionary(2.33 / 3 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Policy(noun)

   civil polity

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

2. Policy(noun)

   the settled method by which the government and affairs of a nation are, or may be, administered; a system of public or official administration, as designed to promote the external or internal prosperity of a state

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

3. Policy(noun)

   the method by which any institution is administered; system of management; course

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

4. Policy(noun)

   management or administration based on temporal or material interest, rather than on principles of equity or honor; hence, worldly wisdom; dexterity of management; cunning; stratagem

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

5. Policy(noun)

   prudence or wisdom in the management of public and private affairs; wisdom; sagacity; wit

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

6. Policy(noun)

   motive; object; inducement

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

7. Policy(verb)

   to regulate by laws; to reduce to order

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

8. Policy(noun)

   a ticket or warrant for money in the public funds

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

9. Policy(noun)

   the writing or instrument in which a contract of insurance is embodied; an instrument in writing containing the terms and conditions on which one party engages to indemnify another against loss arising from certain hazards, perils, or risks to which his person or property may be exposed. See Insurance

   Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

10. Policy(noun)

    a method of gambling by betting as to what numbers will be drawn in a lottery; as, to play policy

    Etymology: [F. police; cf. Pr. polissia, Sp. plizia, It. plizza; of uncertain origin; cf. L. pollex thumb (as being used in pressing the seal), in LL. also, seal; or cf. LL. politicum, poleticum, polecticum, L. polyptychum, account book, register, fr. Gr. having many folds or leaves; many + fold, leaf, from to fold; or cf. LL. apodixa a receipt.]

Freebase(4.00 / 20 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Policy

   A policy is a principle or rule to guide decisions and achieve rational outcomes. A policy is a statement of intent, and is implemented as a procedure or protocol. Policies are generally adopted by the Board of or senior governance body within an organization whereas procedures or protocols would be developed and adopted by senior executive officers. Policies can assist in both subjective and objective decision making. Policies to assist in subjective decision making would usually assist senior management with decisions that must consider the relative merits of a number of factors before making decisions and as a result are often hard to objectively test e.g. work-life balance policy. In contrast policies to assist in objective decision making are usually operational in nature and can be objectively tested e.g. password policy. The term may apply to government, private sector organizations and groups, and individuals. Presidential executive orders, corporate privacy policies, and parliamentary rules of order are all examples of policy. Policy differs from rules or law. While law can compel or prohibit behaviors, policy merely guides actions toward those that are most likely to achieve a desired outcome.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary(3.50 / 4 votes)Rate this definition:

1. Policy

   pol′i-si, n. the art or manner of regulating or guiding conduct: the method and forms according to which the government and business of a country are carried on: a system of administration guided more by interest than by principle: dexterity of management: prudence: cunning: in Scotland, (esp. in pl.) the pleasure-grounds around a mansion. [O. Fr. policie (Fr. police)—L. politia—Gr. politeia.]

2. Policy

   pol′i-si, n. a warrant for money in the funds: a writing containing a contract of insurance: a kind of gambling by betting on the numbers to be drawn in a lottery.—n. Pol′icy-hold′er, one who holds a policy or contract of insurance. [Fr. police, a policy—L. polyptychum, a register—Gr. polyptychon—polys, many, ptyx, ptychos, fold.]

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

1. policy

   Leaving a few things unsaid.

Dictionary of Nautical Terms(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. policy

   A written contract, by which the insurers oblige themselves to indemnify sea-risks under various conditions. An interest policy, is where the insurer has a real assignable interest in the thing insured; a wager policy, is where the insurer has no substantial interest in the thing insured; an open policy, is where the amount of interest is not fixed, but left to be ascertained in case of loss; a valued policy, is where an actual value has been set on the ship or goods.

Editors Contribution(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. policy

   An intention or plan of action.

   The governmental policy was one of unity and multi-party working for the benefit of everyone within a country, nation or state.

   Submitted by MaryC on February 16, 2020  

Suggested Resources(0.00 / 0 votes)Rate this definition:

1. policy

   Song lyrics by policy -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by policy on the Lyrics.com website.

British National Corpus

1. Spoken Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'policy' in Spoken Corpus Frequency: #332

2. Written Corpus Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'policy' in Written Corpus Frequency: #421

3. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'policy' in Nouns Frequency: #61

How to pronounce policy?

1. 

   Alex

   US English

   

   Daniel

   British

   

   Karen

   Australian

   

   Veena

   Indian

How to say policy in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of policy in Chaldean Numerology is: 5

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of policy in Pythagorean Numerology is: 8

Examples of policy in a Sentence

1. Police Chief Karl Durr:

   The department is committed to assuring that its officers consistently use good judgment and act in accordance with policy. If we need to make changes or address issues internally we will identify any issue and act accordingly.

2. Janet Yellen:

   When the Committee begins to normalize the stance of policy, doing so will be a testament ... to how far our economy has come, in that sense, it is a day that I expect we all are looking forward to.

3. Shai Akabas:

   It's more likely to serve as a tax-planning tool for wealthy individuals than a lifeline for the middle class, this is an emergency situation, but we already have an underlying retirement security problem, so sending the signal that it's OK to make yourself less financially secure to gain more security today is not ideal public policy.

4. Gopal Krishna Agarwal:

   Even think-tanks associated with us are talking in this sense. Very few people domestically are talking about fiscal prudence. Only foreign think-tanks are talking fiscal prudence, fiscal prudence. I strongly believe an expansionary policy can benefit the party.

5. Andrew Lipow:

   To put things in context, if we were to look at Iran in total, it's exporting roughly 2.2 million barrels a day of sales, of which half is going to both China and India, it's very important for the U.S. to get India on board with the sanctions policy.

Images & Illustrations of policy

Popularity rank by frequency of use