p'lice

Noun

police pl (normally plural, singular police)

1. (plural, plural-normally) A constituted body of officers representing the civil authority of government, empowered to maintain public order and safety, enforce the law, and prevent, detect, and investigate crime.
   • There are nine Principles of Police:
     ...
     7 To maintain at all times a relationship with the public that gives reality to the historic tradition that the police are the public and that the public are the police; the police being only members of the public who are paid to give full-time attention to...1943, Charles Reith, British Police and the Democratic Ideal, pp. 3–4
   1. (Canada, US, historical, plural, plural-normally) A department of local (usually municipal) government responsible for general law enforcement.
      • The Cook County Sheriff's Department has jurisdiction across most of Chicago but focuses on the unincorporated area and tasks like prisoner transport, leaving the rest to the Chicago Police Department.
   2. (UK, plural, plural-normally) A branch of the Home Office responsible for general law enforcement within a specific territory.
      • Scotland Yard is, technically speaking, only the metropolitan police for Greater London but because of their importance they have special jurisdiction for some crimes across the United Kingdom.
   3. (Australia, New Zealand, plural, plural-normally) Any of the formally enacted law enforcement agencies at various levels of government.
2. (plural, plural-normally, plural-only, usually) The staff of such a department or agency, particularly its officers; (regional, chiefly US, Caribbean, Jamaica, Scotland, countable) an individual police officer.
   • Pearlman: Very clever, Lester. You got it all figured, huh?
     Freamon: Me? I'm just a police.2006 Sept. 17, David Mills, "Soft Eyes", The Wire, 00:06:50
3. (derogatory, figuratively, ironic, mildly, plural, plural-normally) People who try to enforce norms or standards as if granted authority similar to the police.
   • Who called the fashion police?

See all 11 meanings of police