police
Fetched 2026-10-26 (cache).
Synonyms: polite, policy, polive, polica, polie, pulice, polich
Antonyms: polite, policy, polive, polica, polie, pulice, polich
Related words from Datamuse; suggestions, not definitions.
Noun
- {{senseid|en|Q35535}} {{lb|en|police}} A [[constituted]] [[body]] of [[officer]]s [[represent]]ing the [[civil]] [[authority]] of [[government]], [[empowered]] to [[maintain]] [[public]] [[order]] and [[safety]], [[enforce]] the [[law]], and [[prevent]], [[detect]], and [[investigate]] [[crime]]. {{defdate|from 18th c.}}
- {{lb|en|usually|_|plural only}} The [[staff]] of [[such]] a [[department]] or [[agency]], [[particularly]] its [[police officer|officers]]; {{lb|en|regional|chiefly|US|Caribbean|Jamaica|Scotland|countable}} an [[individual]] [[police officer]]. {{defdate|from 19th c.}}
- {{lb|en|figuratively|usually|ironic|_|&|_|mildly|_|pejorative}} [[people|People]] who [[try]] to [[enforce]] [[norm]]s or [[standard]]s [[as if]] [[grant]]ed [[authority]] [[similar]] to the [[#Noun|police]].
- {{lb|en|military|slang}} [[cleanup|Cleanup]] of a [[military]] [[facility]], as a [[formal]] [[duty]].
- {{lb|en|archaic|now|_|rare}} {{synonym of|en|administration}}, the [[regulation]] of a [[community]] or [[society]]. {{defdate|from 17th c.}}
- {{lb|en|obsolete}} {{alternative form of|en|policy}}. {{defdate|15th|19th c.}}
- {{lb|en|obsolete}} {{alternative form of|en|polity}}, [[civilization]], a [[regulated]] [[community]]. {{defdate|16th|19th c.}}
Verb
- {{lb|en|transitive}} To enforce the law and keep order among (a group).
- {{lb|en|ambitransitive|military|slang}} To clean up an area.
- {{lb|en|transitive|figurative}} To enforce norms or standards upon.
Source: Wiktionary · CC BY-SA 4.0 (Wiktionary dump) · cached copy, not a rewrite.