Meaning of police in English

police

/pəˈliːs/ us

/pəˈliːs/

the official organization that is responsible for protecting people and property, making people obey the law, finding out about and solving crime, and catching people who have committed a crime:

I think you should call the police.

The police are investigating fraud allegations against him.

members of this organization:

There should be more police patrolling the area on foot.

More examples

The police are appealing to the public for any information about the missing girl.
The police gave out road-safety booklets to the children.
Get out of here now or I'll call the police.
When she was stopped by the police for speeding, she gave them a false name and address.
The role of the police is to ensure that the law is obeyed.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

The police generally

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People who work for the police service

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police

verb [ T ]

/pəˈliːs/ us

/pəˈliːs/

to control or guard a public event or area by using members of the police or a similar force:

The march will be heavily policed by an anti-riot unit.

to control the way in which a possibly dangerous substance is dealt with or a dangerous activity is done:

The use of these chemicals must be carefully policed.

SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases

The police generally

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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:

Controlling and being in charge

(Definition of police from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

police | American Dictionary

police

plural noun

/pəˈlis/

an official force whose job is to maintain public order, deal with crime, and make people obey the law, or the members of this force:

I think you should call the police.

Police arrested two people in connection with the robbery.

police

verb [ T ]

/pəˈlis/

to control or maintain order, esp. with police:

Security forces policed the border.

It’s up to the government to police the financial markets.

(Definition of police from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

police | Business English

police

verb [ T ]

/pəˈliːs/ us

to make sure that the rules of an activity, organization, industry, etc. are obeyed:

It's impossible for the moderator to police all the comments that have been posted.

to control the way in which a possibly dangerous substance is dealt with or a dangerous activity is done:

The use of these chemicals must be carefully policed.

(Definition of police from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of police

police

Industrialization, poverty, and unemployment gave rise to property, as opposed to people-related, offences on a scale that transcended ethnic boundaries and necessitated new policing methods.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

By involving local people in the management of protected areas, the authorities could offer employment to local communities, while reducing the cost of policing.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Participants heard how difficult it is to stop a determined thief, which may have curtailed support for policing and obviation.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The same considerations should, presumably, underpin reviews of policing in democratic societies.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Ghanaian policing has much in common with policing elsewhere.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

However, the issue of policing remains highly contentious.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

No longer was the state responsible for policing the health of society: everyone was to be his or her own policeman.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Adapting postwar social polices to new social risks.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Given its expected role in deterring crime, punishment was a significant aspect of policing in this period.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

In addition to the previous issue, problems of rigidity in policing the system become relevant.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Criticisms focused upon the arboretum's appearance, policing problems, access and funding.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Rather, reform emerged out of and re-ected the various forms of policing that had evolved at the local level over the previous 100 years.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

With the appointment of his new gardes, the burden of policing the craft would be transferred to the state.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

Within this discursive framework there are both an explicit denial that policing changes have occurred, and a call for an entirely "new" form of policing.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

The history of modern policing itself indicates longstanding concern with excessive, sometimes brutal, control over citizens by law enforcement agents.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all examples of police

These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with police

police

These are words often used in combination with police.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

corrupt police

Thank heaven, in this country we have not got a corrupt police.

From the

Hansard archive

Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0

local police

They do not have access to # official disciplinary structures, for example, in the form of a local police force.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

mounted police

Around 300 police and special constables were on the scene, including thirty-six mounted police who charged and dispersed the crowd.

From the Cambridge English Corpus

See all collocations with police

Translations of police

in Chinese (Traditional)

警察當局，警方, 員警, 維持…的治安，巡查…

Meaning of police in English

police | American Dictionary

police | Business English

Examples of police

Collocations with police

police

Translations of police

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