police
noun
[ pəˈliːs ]
• the civil force of a state, responsible for the prevention and detection of crime and the maintenance of public order.
• "when someone is killed, the police have to be informed"
Similar:
police force,
police officers,
policemen,
policewomen,
officers of the law,
the forces of law and order,
law enforcement officers,
law enforcement agency,
constabulary,
polis,
gendarmerie,
Polizei,
carabinieri,
watch,
the cops,
the fuzz,
the law,
the Man,
the boys in blue,
the long arm of the law,
the (Old) Bill,
coppers,
rozzers,
bobbies,
busies,
bizzies,
the force,
plod,
PC Plod,
the heat,
…'s finest,
pigs,
the filth,
Babylon,
police
verb
• (of a police force) have the duty of maintaining law and order in or at (an area or event).
Similar:
maintain law and order in,
keep the peace in,
keep guard over,
keep watch on,
watch over,
guard,
protect,
defend,
patrol,
make the rounds of,
control,
keep in order,
keep under control,
regulate,
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.
