po·lice
(pə-lēś)
[French, from Old French policie, civil organization, from Late Latin polītīa, from Latin, the State, from Greek polīteia, from polītēs, citizen, from polis, city.]
noun: pl., police.
- The governmental department charged with the regulation and control of the affairs of a community, now chiefly the department established to maintain order, enforce the law, and prevent and detect crime.
- A body of persons making up such a department, trained in methods of law enforcement and crime prevention and detection and authorized to maintain the peace, safety, and order of the community.
- A body of persons having similar organization and function: campus police. Also called police force
- Police officers considered as a group.
- Regulation and control of the affairs of a community, especially with respect to maintenance of order, law, health, morals, safety, and other matters affecting the public welfare.
- Informal A group that admonishes, cautions, or reminds: grammar police; fashion police.
- The cleaning of a military base or other military area: Police of the barracks must be completed before inspection.
- The soldiers assigned to a specified maintenance duty.
transitive verb: -liced, -lic·ing, -lic·es.
- To regulate, control, or keep in order with or as if with a law enforcement agency.
- To make (a military area, for example) neat in appearance: policed the barracks.
derivatives
- po·licéa·ble
- adjective
- po·lićer
- noun
