POLICE | definition in the Cambridge English Dictionary
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English (US)

Meaning of police in English

police
noun [ plural ]
us
/pəˈliːs/ uk
/pəˈliːs/
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A2
the official organization that is responsible for protecting people and property, making people obey the law, finding out about and solving crime, and catching people who have committed a crime:
I think you should call the police.
The police are investigating fraud allegations against him.
members of this organization:
There should be more police patrolling the area on foot.
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SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
The police generally
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
police
verb [ T ]
us
/pəˈliːs/ uk
/pəˈliːs/
to control or guard a public event or area by using members of the police or a similar force:
The march will be heavily policed by an anti-riot unit.
to control the way in which a possibly dangerous substance is dealt with or a dangerous activity is done:
The use of these chemicals must be carefully policed.
SMART Vocabulary: related words and phrases
The police generally
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You can also find related words, phrases, and synonyms in the topics:
(Definition of police from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)

police | Intermediate English

police
plural noun
us
/pəˈlis/
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an official force whose job is to maintain public order, deal with crime, and make people obey the law, or the members of this force:
I think you should call the police.
Police arrested two people in connection with the robbery.
police
verb [ T ]
us
/pəˈlis/
to control or maintain order, esp. with police:
Security forces policed the border.
It’s up to the government to police the financial markets.
(Definition of police from the Cambridge Academic Content Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

police | Business English

police
verb [ T ]
uk
/pəˈliːs/ us
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to make sure that the rules of an activity, organization, industry, etc. are obeyed:
It's impossible for the moderator to police all the comments that have been posted.
to control the way in which a possibly dangerous substance is dealt with or a dangerous activity is done:
The use of these chemicals must be carefully policed.
(Definition of police from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary © Cambridge University Press)

Examples of police

police
We are safer when communities respect the police and police respect the communities.
From Politico
A suspect was arrested in the protester's death, police said.
From ABC News
Police said they found no book at the scene.
From Voice of America
Her father, concerned when she did not return home, was with police when her body was found.
From ABC News
Doing so would go a long way to helping rebuild public trust in police, he said.
From OregonLive.com
The witnesses came and the police started to believe my story.
From NPR
The two boys shared a small bed inside the room, police said.
From OregonLive.com
Comment has -- -- the police that -- they didn't know what they're expecting you know it is -- one.
From ABC News
Now in the '80s, you would see there was a lot more police riding the subway, and we were just up there last year.
From NPR
That wasn't the first time police had been called.
From Minneapolis Star Tribune
He gives himself up to the police as the opera ends.
From NPR
He had just returned home from work; he was in the shower when police arrived.
From Slate Magazine
Police did not have a hard time getting details from the children.
From New York Daily News
So he went to the police, told them.
From NPR
He is facing a 20-year prison sentence, police said.
From ABC News
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.

Collocations with police

police

These are words often used in combination with police.

Click on a collocation to see more examples of it.

corrupt police
Thank heaven, in this country we have not got a corrupt police.
From the
Hansard archive
Example from the Hansard archive. Contains Parliamentary information licensed under the Open Parliament Licence v3.0
local police
They do not have access to # official disciplinary structures, for example, in the form of a local police force.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
mounted police
Around 300 police and special constables were on the scene, including thirty-six mounted police who charged and dispersed the crowd.
From the Cambridge English Corpus
These examples are from corpora and from sources on the web. Any opinions in the examples do not represent the opinion of the Cambridge Dictionary editors or of Cambridge University Press or its licensors.
See all collocations with police
What is the pronunciation of police?
 

Translations of police

in Chinese (Traditional)
警察當局，警方, 員警, 維持…的治安，巡查…
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in Chinese (Simplified)
警察当局，警方, 警察, 维持…的治安，巡查…
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in Spanish
policía, policías, policía [feminine…
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in Portuguese
polícia, policiais, policiar…
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in more languages
in Marathi
in Japanese
in Turkish
in French
in Catalan
in Dutch
in Tamil
in Hindi
in Gujarati
in Danish
in Swedish
in Malay
in German
in Norwegian
in Urdu
in Ukrainian
in Russian
in Telugu
in Arabic
in Bengali
in Czech
in Indonesian
in Thai
in Vietnamese
in Polish
in Korean
in Italian
पोलिस / लोकांचे आणि मालमत्तेचे रक्षण करण्याची जबाबदारी असलेली, लोकांना कायदा पाळायला लावणारी, गुन्हे शोधून ते सोडवणारी…
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警察, 警察署, 警察（けいさつ）…
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polis teşkilâtı, emniyet güçleri, emniyeti/düzeni/huzuru/güvenliği sağlamak…
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police [feminine], (de) police, envoyer des agents…
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policia…
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politie, onder politiebewaking stellen…
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மக்கள் மற்றும் சொத்துக்களைப் பாதுகாப்பதற்கும், மக்கள் சட்டத்திற்குக் கீழ்ப்படிய வைப்பதற்கும், குற்றங்களைப் பற்றி கண்டுபிடித்து தீர்ப்பதற்கும்…
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पुलिस, पुलिस वाले, पुलिस के लोग…
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પોલીસ, પોલીસખાતું, પોલીસ કર્મચારીઓ…
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politi, politi-, patruljere…
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polis, bevaka, kontrollera…
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polis, menempatkan polis…
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die Polizei, Polizei-…, überwachen…
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politi [neuter], politi, utføre polititjeneste…
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پولیس, پولیس کا محکمہ (قانون نافذکرنے والی سرکاری تنظیم), پولیس (پولیس محکمے کے لوگ)…
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поліція, забезпечувати поліцією…
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полиция, обеспечивать соблюдение порядка…
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పోలీసు వ్యవస్థ, ఈ సంస్థ సభ్యులు…
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شُرْطة…
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পুলিশ, জনগণ এবং সম্পদ রক্ষা করার জন্যে, মানুষের আইন মেনে চলা এবং অপরাধমূলক কাজ সম্পর্কে খোঁজ করা ও সেগুলির সমাধান করা এবং অপরাধীদের ধরে ফেলার দায়িত্বে রয়েছে যে সংগঠন…
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policie, policejní, obsadit policií…
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polisi, menyediakan tenaga polisi…
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ตำรวจ, รักษาความสงบเรียบร้อย…
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cảnh sát, giữ trật tự…
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policja, Police ma tylko liczbę mnogą!, pilnować…
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경찰…
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polizia, di polizia, (presidiare con la polizia)…
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