police force

noun

: a body of trained officers entrusted by a government with maintenance of public peace and order, enforcement of laws, and prevention and detection of crime

Synonyms of police force

• police
• constabulary

Examples of police force in a Sentence

He joined the local police force.

mobilized practically the entire police force to track down the escaped criminal

Recent Examples on the Web

Masson credited the town’s surveillance cameras with capturing the fleeing pair abandoning at least one of the paintings and the city’s police force with a quick response. — News Desk, Artforum, 8 Sep. 2026

That police force is needed to create a security architecture independent of Hamas that could facilitate the entry into the Strip of a new technocratic government backed by Washington. — Dov Lieber, CBS News, 7 Sep. 2026

The nationwide police force grew by around 2% over the same period. — Alex Harring, CNBC, 4 Sep. 2026

It’s contributed to the rise of a police force for sportsbooks. — Andrew Zucker, HollywoodReporter, 3 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1820, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for police force

• bourse
• coarse
• course
• gorse
• hoarse
• horse
• norse
• source
• concourse
• divorce
• endorse
• enforce

Kids Definition

police force

noun

: a body of officers trained and entrusted by a government to keep public peace, enforce laws, and prevent and detect crime

Legal Definition

police force

noun

: a body of trained officers entrusted by a government with maintenance of public peace and order, enforcement of laws, and prevention and detection of crime