Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English homepage

Topic: OCCUPATIONS

Date: 1400-1500
Language: French
Origin: Late Latin politia 'government', from polites; POLITIC

police

1 noun
     
po‧lice1 S1 W1 [plural]
1BO the people who work for an official organization whose job is to catch criminals and make sure that people obey the law:
Police surrounded the courthouse.
Several police were injured during the rioting.
Armed police stormed the building.
2

the police

BO the official organization whose job is to catch criminals and make sure that people obey the law:
Did you report the robbery to the police?
He was arrested by the police for dangerous driving.
! Police is a plural noun. Do not say 'a police'. Say a police officer, a policeman, or a policewoman: The police were called. | A police officer came. ➔ military police, secret policeWORD FOCUS: police WORD FOCUS: police
people in the police force: police officer, policeman, policewoman, detective, cop informal
the building where the police work: police station
what the police do: investigate crimes, find/collect evidence, arrest people who they think are guilty of a crime, question/interrogate people about crimes, hold/detain people in custody, charge people with crimes, release people if they are innocent
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