police

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po·lice

(pə-lēs′)

n. pl. police

1. (used with a pl. verb)

a. A body of government employees trained in methods of law enforcement and crime prevention and detection and authorized to maintain the peace, safety, and order of the community.

b. A body of persons with a similar organization and function: campus police. Also called police force.

2. Archaic Regulation and control of the affairs of a community, especially with respect to maintenance of order, law, health, morals, safety, and other matters affecting the public welfare.

3. Informal A group that admonishes, cautions, or reminds: grammar police; fashion police.

a. The cleaning of a military base or other military area: Police of the barracks must be completed before inspection.

b. The soldiers assigned to a specified maintenance duty.

tr.v. po·liced, po·lic·ing, po·lic·es

1. To regulate, control, or keep in order with a law enforcement agency or other official group.

a. To impose one's viewpoint or beliefs regarding, especially in an authoritarian way: policing others' comments by implementing speech codes.

b. To critique in a presumptuous or arrogant manner: policed the grammar of everyone who commented on the blog post.

3. To make (a military area, for example) neat in appearance: policed the barracks.

[French, from Old French policie, civil organization, from Late Latin polītīa, from Latin, the State, from Greek polīteia, from polītēs, citizen, from polis, city; see pelə- in Indo-European roots.]

po·lice′a·ble adj.

po·lic′er n.

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

police

(pəˈliːs)

1. (Law)

a. the police the organized civil force of a state, concerned with maintenance of law and order, the detection and prevention of crime, etc

b. (as modifier): a police inquiry.

2. (Law) (functioning as plural) the members of such a force collectively

3. any organized body with a similar function: security police.

4. (Law) archaic

a. the regulation and control of a community, esp in regard to the enforcement of law, the prevention of crime, etc

b. the department of government concerned with this

vb (tr)

5. (Law) to regulate, control, or keep in order by means of a police or similar force

6. to observe or record the activity or enforcement of: a committee was set up to police the new agreement on picketing.

7. (Military) US to make or keep (a military camp, etc) clean and orderly

[C16: via French from Latin polītīa administration, government; see polity]

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

po•lice

(pəˈlis)

n., v. -liced, -lic•ing. n.

1. an organized civil force for maintaining order, preventing and detecting crime, and enforcing the laws.

2. (used with a pl. v.) members of such a force.

3. the regulation and control of a community, esp. for the maintenance of public order, safety, morals, health, etc.

4. the department of a government concerned with this, esp. with the maintenance of order.

5. any body of people employed to keep order, enforce regulations, etc.

6. people who seek to regulate a specified behavior, activity, practice, etc.: the language police.

a. the cleaning and keeping clean of a military camp, post, etc.

b. the cleanliness of a camp, post, etc.

v.t.

8. to regulate, control, or keep in order by or as if by means of police.

9. to clean and keep clean (a military camp, post, etc.).

[1520–30; < Middle French: government, civil administration, police < Late Latin polītia citizenship, government, for Latin polītīa; see polity]

pron: Many English words exemplify the original stress rule of Old English and other early Germanic languages, according to which all parts of speech were stressed on the first syllable, except for prefixed verbs, which were stressed on the syllable immediately following the prefix. Although loanwords that exhibit other stress patterns have since been incorporated into English, the older stress pattern remains operative to some degree. For South Midland and Midland U.S. speakers in particular, shifting the stress in borrowed nouns to the first syllable is still an active process, yielding (ˈpoʊ lis) for police and (ˈdi trɔɪt) for Detroit, as well as cement, cigar, guitar, insurance, umbrella, and idea said as (ˈsi mɛnt) (ˈsi gɑr) (ˈgɪt ɑr) (ˈɪn ʃʊər əns) (ˈʌm brɛl ə) and (ˈaɪ di^ə)

police

The police are the official organization responsible for making sure that people obey the law. They also protect people and property and arrest criminals.

He called the police to report a robbery.

Contact the police if you see anything suspicious.

Police is a plural noun. You use a plural form of a verb after it.

The police were called to the scene of the crime.

Be Careful!
Don't refer to an individual member of the police force as a 'police'. You usually refer to him or her as a police officer. You can also say policeman or policewoman.

A police officer stood outside the building.

Collins COBUILD English Usage © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 2004, 2011, 2012

police

Past participle: policed
Gerund: policing

Imperative
police
police

Present
I police
you police
he/she/it polices
we police
you police
they police

Preterite
I policed
you policed
he/she/it policed
we policed
you policed
they policed

Present Continuous
I am policing
you are policing
he/she/it is policing
we are policing
you are policing
they are policing

Present Perfect
I have policed
you have policed
he/she/it has policed
we have policed
you have policed
they have policed

Past Continuous
I was policing
you were policing
he/she/it was policing
we were policing
you were policing
they were policing

Past Perfect
I had policed
you had policed
he/she/it had policed
we had policed
you had policed
they had policed

Future
I will police
you will police
he/she/it will police
we will police
you will police
they will police

Future Perfect
I will have policed
you will have policed
he/she/it will have policed
we will have policed
you will have policed
they will have policed

Future Continuous
I will be policing
you will be policing
he/she/it will be policing
we will be policing
you will be policing
they will be policing

Present Perfect Continuous
I have been policing
you have been policing
he/she/it has been policing
we have been policing
you have been policing
they have been policing

Future Perfect Continuous
I will have been policing
you will have been policing
he/she/it will have been policing
we will have been policing
you will have been policing
they will have been policing

Past Perfect Continuous
I had been policing
you had been policing
he/she/it had been policing
we had been policing
you had been policing
they had been policing

Conditional
I would police
you would police
he/she/it would police
we would police
you would police
they would police

Past Conditional
I would have policed
you would have policed
he/she/it would have policed
we would have policed
you would have policed
they would have policed

Collins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Switch to new thesaurus

Noun	1.	police - the force of policemen and officers; "the law came looking for him" constabulary, police force, law personnel, force - group of people willing to obey orders; "a public force is necessary to give security to the rights of citizens" European Law Enforcement Organisation, Europol - police organization for the European Union; aims to improve effectiveness and cooperation among European police forces gendarmerie, gendarmery - French police force; a group of gendarmes or gendarmes collectively Mutawa, Mutawa'een - religious police in Saudi Arabia whose duty is to ensure strict adherence to established codes of conduct; offenders may be detained indefinitely; foreigners are not excluded Mounties, RCMP, Royal Canadian Mounted Police - the federal police force of Canada New Scotland Yard, Scotland Yard - the detective department of the metropolitan police force of London secret police - a police force that operates in secrecy (usually against persons suspected of treason or sedition) Schutzstaffel, SS - special police force in Nazi Germany founded as a personal bodyguard for Adolf Hitler in 1925; the SS administered the concentration camps law enforcement agency - an agency responsible for insuring obedience to the laws posse, posse comitatus - a temporary police force police officer, policeman, officer - a member of a police force; "it was an accident, officer"
Verb	1.	police - maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol patrol guard - to keep watch over; "there would be men guarding the horses"

police

noun

1. the law (informal), police force, constabulary, fuzz (slang), law enforcement agency, boys in blue (informal), the Old Bill (slang), rozzers (slang) The police have arrested twenty people following the disturbances.

verb

1. control, patrol, guard, watch, protect, regulate, keep the peace, keep in order the UN force whose job it is to police the border

2. monitor, check, observe, oversee, supervise the body which polices the investment management business

Collins Thesaurus of the English Language – Complete and Unabridged 2nd Edition. 2002 © HarperCollins Publishers 1995, 2002

police

noun

A member of a law-enforcement agency:

bluecoat, finest, officer, patrolman, patrolwoman, peace officer, policeman, police officer, policewoman.

Informal: cop, law.

Slang: bull, copper, flatfoot, fuzz, gendarme, heat, man (often uppercase).

Chiefly British: bobby, constable, peeler.

verb

1. To maintain or keep in order with or as if with police:

patrol.

2. To make or keep (an area) clean and orderly:

clean (up), clear (up), neaten (up), spruce (up), straighten (up), tidy (up).

Translations

شُرْطَةشُرْطَهيُحافِظ على الأمن، يُزوِّد بالشُّرْطَه

полиция

policieosadit policiípolicejní

politipatruljere

Polizei überwachen

αστυνομία αστυνομεύω

policía vigilar mantener el orden rondar

politsei

poliisipoliisivoimat

police policier

policijamilicija

rendőrség

annast löggæslu ílögreglalögreglan

polizia poliziesco presidiare

警察

경찰

apstatyti policijapolicijapolicijos nuovadapolicininkėtarnybinis šuo

policijanodrošināt ar policiju

politie

politi utføre polititjeneste holde ro og orden

policja

polícia

politia

милиция полицейский полиция

nasadiť políciupolicajnýpolícia

policija

polis

ตำรวจ

polisgüvenliği sağlamak

cảnh sát

警察在...设置警察

police

[pəˈliːs]

A. NPL → policía fsing
to join the police → hacerse policía
more than a hundred police were called in → más de cien policías hicieron acto de presencia

B. VT [+ frontier] → vigilar, patrullar por; [+ area] → mantener el orden público en; [+ process] → vigilar, controlar
the frontier is policed by UN patrols → la frontera la vigilan las patrullas de la ONU
the area used to be policed by Britain → la zona estaba antes bajo control de Gran Bretaña

C. CPD → de policía
police brutality N → violencia f policial
police captain N (US) → subjefe mf
police car N → coche m de policía
police constable N (Brit) → guardia mf, policía mf
police court N → tribunal m de policía, tribunal m correccional
police custody N in police custody → bajo custodia policial
police department N (US) → policía f
police dog N → perro m policía
police escort N → escolta f policial
police force N → cuerpo m de policía
police inspector N → inspector(a) m/f de policía
police officer N → guardia mf, policía mf
police protection N → protección f policial
police record N → antecedentes mpl penales
police state N → estado m policía
police station N → comisaría f
police work N → trabajo m policial or de la policía

Collins Spanish Dictionary - Complete and Unabridged 8th Edition 2005 © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1971, 1988 © HarperCollins Publishers 1992, 1993, 1996, 1997, 2000, 2003, 2005

police

[pəˈliːs]

n (= organization) → police f
We called the police → Nous avons appelé la police.

npl (= police officers) → policiers mpl
A large number of police were hurt → De nombreux policiers ont été blessés.

[+ area] → maintenir l'ordre dans; [+ event] → maintenir l'ordre pendant
The march was heavily policed
BUT Il y avait une forte présence policière lors de la manifestation.

[+ border] → surveiller

(= oversee) [+ law,] → veiller à l'application de; [+ area of public life] → contrôler

modif [action, activity, brutality, harassment, inquiry] → policier/ère police cell, police helicopter, police presencepolice car n → voiture f de policepolice cell n → cellule f (dans un poste de police)police chief n

(British) → préfet m (de police)

(US) → (commissaire m) divisionnaire mpolice constable n (British) → agent m de policepolice department n (US) → services mpl de police
the police department → les services de policepolice dog n → chien m policierpolice force n → police fpolice headquarters npl → quartier m général de la policepolice helicopter n → hélicoptère m de la policepolice inspector n → inspecteur/trice m/f de police

Collins English/French Electronic Resource. © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

police

n (+sing vb, = institution, +pl vb, = policemen) → Polizei f; to join the police → zur Polizei gehen; he is in or a member of the police → er ist bei der Polizei; all police leave was cancelled → allen Polizisten wurde der Urlaub gesperrt; hundreds of police → hunderte or Hunderte von Polizisten; extra police were called in → es wurden zusätzliche Polizeikräfte angefordert; three police were injured → drei Polizeibeamte or Polizisten wurden verletzt

vt road, frontier, territory → kontrollieren; agreement, pop concert → überwachen, kontrollieren; to police the peace → den Frieden überwachen; a heavily policed area → ein Gebiet nt → mit hoher Polizeidichte

police

police car

n → Polizeiwagen m

police constable

n (Brit) → Polizist(in) m(f), → Wachtmeister(in) m(f) (form)

police court

n → ˜ Polizeigericht nt

police dog

n → Polizeihund m

police escort

n → Polizeieskorte f

police force

n → Polizei f; one of the best-equipped polices in the world → eine der bestausgestatteten Polizeitruppen der Welt

police headquarters

n sing or pl → Polizeipräsidium nt

policeman

n → Polizist m

police message

n (Rad) → Durchsage f → der Polizei

police officer

n → Polizeibeamte(r) mf

police presence

n → Polizeiaufgebot nt

police protection

n → Polizeischutz m

police record

n → Vorstrafen pl; to have a police → vorbestraft sein

police state

n → Polizeistaat m

police station

n → (Polizei)wache f → or -revier nt

police supervision

n → Polizeiaufsicht f

policewoman

n → Polizistin f

police work

n → Polizeiarbeit f; (= investigation) → polizeiliche Nachforschungen pl

Collins German Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged 7th Edition 2005. © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1980 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1997, 1999, 2004, 2005, 2007

police

[pəˈliːs]

1. npl (organization) → polizia fsg; (policemen) → poliziotti mpl
the railway/river police → la polizia ferroviaria/fluviale
a large number of police were hurt → molti poliziotti sono rimasti feriti
the police have caught him → è stato preso dalla polizia
extra police were brought in → sono state fatte intervenire forze di polizia supplementari
to join the police → arruolarsi nella polizia

2. vt (streets, city, frontier) → presidiare (fig) (agreements, prices) → controllare
to police a football match → presidiare lo stadio durante un incontro di calcio

3. adj (escort, protection) → di agenti di polizia

police

(pəˈliːs) noun plural

the men and women whose job is to prevent crime, keep order, see that laws are obeyed etc. Call the police!; The police are investigating the matter; (also adjective) the police force, a police officer.

verb

to supply (a place) with police. We cannot police the whole area.

police dog

a dog trained to work with policemen (in tracking criminals, finding drugs etc).

poˈliceman, poˈlicewoman nouns

a member of the police.

police station

the office or headquarters of a local police force. The lost dog was taken to the police station.

police

→ شُرْطَة policie politi Polizei αστυνομία policía poliisivoimat police policija polizia 警察 경찰 politie politi policja polícia полиция polis ตำรวจ polis cảnh sát 警察

References in classic literature ?

The fearful coming of the engine could break up the most intricate muddle of heavy vehicles at which the police had been swearing for the half of an hour.

View in context

The original correspondence, he has told me, is in the hands of the police. He has begged me, also, as a warning to society against a most frightful and diabolical danger which threatens its very existence, to make public the terrible series of tragedies in which he has been innocently concerned.

View in context

The first words of the commissary of police, on entering the managers' office, were to ask after the missing prima donna.

View in context

"Why didn't you lock the door and send for the police?" asked Mr.

View in context

* As on the continent, in all law and police practices nothing is verbal, but any circumstance, however trifling, is reduced to writing, the labor, as well as the number of papers that thus accumulate, is enormous.

View in context

On his way through the village he informed the police, who thanked him, and said there must be an inquest.

View in context

"Your Paris is more dangerous than my savage jungles, Paul," concluded Tarzan, after narrating his adventures to his friend the morning following his encounter with the apaches and police in the Rue Maule.

View in context

The roar came closer, and Saxon, leaning out, saw a dozen scabs, conveyed by as many special police and Pinkertons, coming down the sidewalk on her side of tho street.

View in context

Front and rear, and along each side of this procession, marched a protecting escort of one hundred police. Behind the police rearguard, at a respectful distance, was an orderly but vociferous mob, several blocks in length, that congested the street from sidewalk to sidewalk.

View in context

The commissioner of police was sitting in his office at nine o'clock one evening, when the following telegraphic dispatch was put into his hands: Suez to London.

View in context

"I suppose I have no alternative but to send for the police?"

View in context

Troy set forth for the Head Office in Whitehall to consult the police on the question of the missing money.