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

• 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

Last weekend, Johnson signed an executive order directing the city’s police force not to cooperate with federal agents in a potential crackdown on crime and immigration. —Rebecca Schneid, Time, 6 Sep. 2025

The vault door is open and the city’s entire police force stumbles upon Batista’s body, Prater’s trophies and most importantly, the file on the New York Ripper, whose identity unfortunately remains a mystery… for now. —Nick Caruso, TVLine, 5 Sep. 2025

Talks also paused while the city and union agreed to work on 2023 Wisconsin Act 12, a state funding law that mandated Milwaukee expand its police force while allowing the city to raise more revenue. —Claudia Levens, jsonline.com, 5 Sep. 2025

The Star’s investigation also found that Independence police conduct more chases than any other police force in the area. —Robert A. Cronkleton, Kansas City Star, 31 Aug. 2025

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