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.
4.
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.
2.
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)
n
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.
7.
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 diə)
Random House Kernerman Webster's College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.

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:
Noun1.police - the force of policemen and officerspolice - the force of policemen and officers; "the law came looking for him"
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"
Verb1.police - maintain the security of by carrying out a patrol
guard - to keep watch over; "there would be men guarding the horses"
Based on WordNet 3.0, Farlex clipart collection. © 2003-2012 Princeton University, Farlex Inc.

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:
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:
2. To make or keep (an area) clean and orderly:
clean (up), clear (up), neaten (up), spruce (up), straighten (up), tidy (up).
The American Heritage® Roget's Thesaurus. Copyright © 2013, 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Translations
شُرْطَةشُرْطَهيُحافِظ على الأمن، يُزوِّد بالشُّرْطَه
полиция
policieosadit policiípolicejní
politipatruljere
politsei
poliisipoliisivoimat
policijamilicija
rendőrség
annast löggæslu ílögreglalögreglan
警察
경찰
apstatyti policijapolicijapolicijos nuovadapolicininkėtarnybinis šuo
policijanodrošināt ar policiju
politia
nasadiť políciupolicajnýpolícia
policija
polis
ตำรวจ
polisgüvenliği sağlamak
cảnh sát

police

[pəˈliːs]
A. NPLpolicía fsing
to join the policehacerse policía
more than a hundred police were called inmás 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 patrolsla frontera la vigilan las patrullas de la ONU
the area used to be policed by Britainla zona estaba antes bajo control de Gran Bretaña
C. CPDde policía
police brutality Nviolencia f policial
police captain N (US) → subjefe mf
police car Ncoche m de policía
police constable N (Brit) → guardia mf, policía mf
police court Ntribunal m de policía, tribunal m correccional
police custody N in police custodybajo custodia policial
police department N (US) → policía f
police dog Nperro m policía
police escort Nescolta f policial
police force Ncuerpo m de policía
police inspector Ninspector(a) m/f de policía
police officer Nguardia mf, policía mf
police protection Nprotección f policial
police record Nantecedentes mpl penales
police state Nestado m policía
police station Ncomisaría f
police work Ntrabajo 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.
vt
[+ 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 nvoiture f de policepolice cell ncellule 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 nchien m policierpolice force npolice fpolice headquarters nplquartier m général de la policepolice helicopter nhélicoptère m de la policepolice inspector ninspecteur/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 policezur Polizei gehen; he is in or a member of the policeer ist bei der Polizei; all police leave was cancelledallen Polizisten wurde der Urlaub gesperrt; hundreds of policehunderte or Hunderte von Polizisten; extra police were called ines wurden zusätzliche Polizeikräfte angefordert; three police were injureddrei Polizeibeamte or Polizisten wurden verletzt
vt road, frontier, territorykontrollieren; agreement, pop concertüberwachen, kontrollieren; to police the peaceden Frieden überwachen; a heavily policed areaein Gebiet ntmit hoher Polizeidichte

police

:
police car
nPolizeiwagen m
police constable
n (Brit) → Polizist(in) m(f), → Wachtmeister(in) m(f) (form)
police court
n˜ Polizeigericht nt
police dog
nPolizeihund m
police escort
police force
nPolizei f; one of the best-equipped polices in the worldeine der bestausgestatteten Polizeitruppen der Welt
police headquarters
n sing or plPolizeipräsidium nt
policeman
nPolizist m
police message
n (Rad) → Durchsage fder Polizei
police officer
nPolizeibeamte(r) mf
police presence
police protection
police record
nVorstrafen pl; to have a policevorbestraft sein
police state
nPolizeistaat m
police station
n(Polizei)wache for -revier nt
police supervision
policewoman
nPolizistin f
police work
nPolizeiarbeit 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
Collins Italian Dictionary 1st Edition © HarperCollins Publishers 1995

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.
Kernerman English Multilingual Dictionary © 2006-2013 K Dictionaries Ltd.

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
Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
Collins Multilingual Translator © HarperCollins Publishers 2009
References in periodicals archive ?
"He'd shut the curtains and all the lights would come on and then the scuffers would come in and sort them all out, but you kept playing.
THEY'LL be out in town for the New Year festivities: the "bizzies", "bobbies", "coppers", "cops", "rozzers", "scuffers".
In what direction is our society moving, when on entering the police station, the young man is detained by the "scuffers" (a term used by my generation to describe policemen) and treated as a common criminal for being honest.