police

verb po·lice \ pə-ˈlēs \

|Updated on: 12 Aug 2018

Examples: police in a Sentence

Definition of police

policed; policing

transitive verb

1 archaic : govern

2 : to control, regulate, or keep in order by use of police

3 : to make clean and put in order

4 a : to supervise the operation, execution, or administration of to prevent or detect and prosecute violations of rules and regulations

b : to exercise such supervision over the policies and activities of

5 : to perform the functions of a police force in or over

See police defined for English-language learners

See police defined for kids

Examples of police in a Sentence

The officers police the streets for reckless drivers.
The coast is policed by the military.
The international agency polices the development of atomic energy facilities.

Recent Examples of police from the Web

Jones thanked Doe for going to police so that Lawrence could now remove the suspect student from campus.

— bruce vielmetti, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Lawrence University sued over campus sex assault procedures," 13 July 2018
Russian hackers made Twitter’s reluctance to police its own platform a matter of geopolitical significance.

— alex shephard, The New Republic, "Is Twitter Good Now?," 13 July 2018
At many companies, client relationships are the most difficult to police – and the most important to protect.

— kristen bellstrom, Fortune, "Helen Rodriguez Trias, Patricia Okoumou, New Voices: Broadsheet July 9th," 9 July 2018
The company has been widely criticized for years over seemingly lax efforts to police bad actors, including abusive users.

— colin lecher, The Verge, "Twitter reportedly suspended 70 million accounts in past two months in crackdown," 6 July 2018
The stated purpose of the new law was to force big online companies, such as Google or Facebook, to share revenues with copyright holders and to better police their sites.

— scott roxborough, The Hollywood Reporter, "European Parliament Rejects Controversial Copyright Law," 5 July 2018
Powell has previously dismissed the need to police for cheating in cryptocurrencies.

— matthew leising, Bloomberg.com, "Crypto Coin Tether Defies Logic on Kraken’s Market, Raising Red Flags," 29 June 2018
The police were still entirely willing to heavily police those venues where it was thought that homosexual activity occurred.

— lorraine boissoneault, Smithsonian, "The True Story of “A Very English Scandal” and the Trials of a Closeted Gay Politician," 27 June 2018
And yet black people continue to be policed more violently and scrutinized more often by law enforcement.

— michael harriot, The Root, "Unprotected, Underserved: The (False) Criminalization of Black America," 25 June 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'police.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of police

in sense 1, from Middle French policier, from police conduct of public affairs; in other senses, from ²police

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1589

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

police

noun, often attributive

Definition of police

plural police

1 a : the internal organization or regulation of a political unit through exercise of governmental powers especially with respect to general comfort, health, morals, safety, or prosperity

b : control and regulation of affairs affecting the general order and welfare of any unit or area

c : the system of laws for effecting such control

2 a : the department of government concerned primarily with maintenance of public order, safety, and health and enforcement of laws and possessing executive, judicial, and legislative powers

b : the department of government charged with prevention, detection, and prosecution of public nuisances and crimes

3 a : police force

b plural : police officers

4 a : a private organization resembling a police force

campus police

b plural : the members of a private police organization

5 a : the action or process of cleaning and putting in order

b : military personnel detailed to perform this function

6 : one attempting to regulate or censor a specified field or activity

the fashion police

See police defined for English-language learners

Examples of police in a Sentence

Police arrested a man whom they identified as the murderer.
the appearance of a ransom note meant that the teenager's disappearance was now a matter for the police

Recent Examples of police from the Web

Sanford police responded to the 700 block of West 1st Street shortly before 6 p.m., spokesman Ronny Neal said.

— michael williams, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Man injured in Sanford shooting, police say," 15 July 2018
According to state police spokesperson Trooper Kelly Grant, the deaths were reported over the past nine days.

— peter marteka, Courant Community, "State Police Investigating Four Untimely Deaths In Nine Days," 15 July 2018
The outage caused streetlights to stop working, and stop signs were placed in the middle of the street to warn people as police directed traffic.

— juan ortega, Sun-Sentinel.com, "FPL restores power to downtown Hollywood after damaged pole caused outage," 14 July 2018
The shooting occurred around 2:25 a.m. July 9, Aurora police said in a post on Facebook.

— staff report, Aurora Beacon-News, "Home hit by gunfire in Aurora," 14 July 2018
Despite a petition, Scottish police have refused requests to allow the Trump Baby to fly over Turnberry, the president’s own golf course (where he was greeted with a mariachi band two years ago).

— alex ritman, The Hollywood Reporter, "London Protest Organizers Plan to Take the 'Trump Baby' Blimp on the Road," 13 July 2018
In 2015, the police commissioner at the time, William J. Bratton, said pedestrian plazas should be done away with.

— james barron, New York Times, "Lounge in Them. Dash Through Them. But Don’t Call Them Parks.," 13 July 2018
Kenyon, who lives in Lakeland, was arrested on a charge of video voyeurism, according to a police report.

— howard cohen, miamiherald, "She felt skin against her leg. The pastor had his cell phone pointed up her dress, cops say," 13 July 2018
Local police chief Rashid Khan says candidate Akram Khan Durrani had just finished his speech when the bomb exploded near his rally on Friday.

— Fox News, "The Latest: Bomb explodes near Pakistan pol's election rally," 13 July 2018

Origin and Etymology of police

French, from Old French, from Late Latin politia government, administration, from Greek politeia, from politēs citizen, from polis city, state; akin to Sanskrit pur rampart, Lithuanian pilis castle

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: 1698

in the meaning defined at sense 1a

See Words from the same year

police Synonyms

Synonyms

constabulary, force, heat [slang], police force;

Related Words

bobby [British], constable, cop, copper, gendarme, officer, policeman, police officer, policewoman, shamus [slang], trooper;

Other Legal Terms

actionable, alienable, carceral, chattel, complicity, decedent, larceny, malfeasance, modus operandi

POLICE Defined for English Language Learners

police

verb

Definition of police for English Language Learners

: to control and keep order in (an area) by the use of police or military forces
: to control (something) by making sure that rules and regulations are being followed

police

noun

Definition of police for English Language Learners

: the people or the department of people who enforce laws, investigate crimes, and make arrests

POLICE Defined for Kids

police

verb po·lice \ pə-ˈlēs \

Definition of police for Students

policed; policing

: to keep order in or among

Officers police the city.

police

noun

Definition of police for Students

plural police

1 : the department of government that keeps order and enforces law, investigates crimes, and makes arrests

2 police plural : members of a police force

Word Root of police

The Greek word polis, meaning “city” or “community,” and the related word polītēs, meaning “citizen,” give us the roots polis and polit. Words from Greek polis and polītēs have something to do with cities or communities or the citizens who live in them. A metropolis is the most important city in an area. The police are a group that enforces the law so as to protect citizens. Politics is the science and art of governing citizens.