police

UK:*UK and possibly other pronunciationsUK and possibly other pronunciations/pəˈliːs/US:USA pronunciation: IPA and respellingUSA pronunciation: IPA/pəˈlis/ ,USA pronunciation: respelling(pə lēs)

Inflections of 'police' (v): (⇒ conjugate)
polices
v 3rd person singular
policing
v pres p
policed
v past
policed
v past p
WordReference Collins English Usage © 2026
police
The police are the official organization responsible for making sure that people obey the law. They also protect people and property and arrest criminals.
He called the police to report a robbery.
Contact the police if you see anything suspicious.
Police is a plural noun. You use a plural form of a verb after it.
The police were called to the scene of the crime.
Be careful
Don't refer to an individual member of the police force as a ‘police’. You usually refer to him or her as a police officer. You can also say policeman or policewoman.
A police officer stood outside the building.
'police' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):

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