police

 
Pronunciation: /pəˈliːs/

noun

[treated as plural] (usually the police)
  • the civil force of a state, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order: local people have lost faith in the police [as modifier]: the coroner will await the outcome of police inquiries
  • members of a police force: there are fewer women police than men
  • [with adjective or noun modifier] an organization engaged in the enforcement of official regulations in a specified domain: transport police

verb

[with object]
  • (of a police force) have the duty of maintaining law and order in or at (an area or event): (as noun policing) a ten-point plan to improve policing
  • enforce regulations or an agreement in (a particular area or domain): a UN resolution to use military force to police the no-fly zone
  • enforce the provisions of (a law, agreement, or treaty): the regulations will be policed by factory inspectors

Origin:

late 15th century (in the sense 'public order'): from French, from medieval Latin politia 'citizenship, government' (see policy1). Current senses date from the early 19th century