Word.ws English Dictionary

cops and robbers

UK/kɒps ˈænd ˈɹɒb.ə(ɹ)s/US/kɑps ˈɛnd ˈɹɑ.bɚs/

cops and robbers noun: a game played by schoolchildren in which the "robbers" have to steal "gold" and return it to their "base" without being caught by the "cops" and taken to "jail". When in "jail", "prisoners" can be "freed" by other "robbers".

Noun

cops and robbers (uncountable)

  1. (playground games) A game played by schoolchildren in which the "robbers" have to steal "gold" and return it to their "base" without being caught by the "cops" and taken to "jail". When in "jail", "prisoners" can be "freed" by other "robbers".

Questions about cops and robbers

What does cops and robbers mean?
Cops and robbers means a game played by schoolchildren in which the "robbers" have to steal "gold" and return it to their "base" without being caught by the "cops" and taken to "jail". When in "jail", "prisoners" can be "freed" by other "robbers".
What part of speech is cops and robbers?
Cops and robbers is a noun.
How do you pronounce cops and robbers?
Cops and robbers is pronounced /kɒps ˈænd ˈɹɒb.ə(ɹ)s/ (UK).

Words near cops and robbers in the dictionary

  1. copræmia
  2. cops
  3. cops a feel
  4. cops a load of
  5. cops a plea
  6. cops and robbers
  7. cops it
  8. cops off
  9. cops off with
  10. cops on
  11. cops one's whack

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: cops and robbers (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

Last updated:

Cite this entry: “cops and robbers.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/cops_and_robbers. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.