the force of policemen and officers
"the law came looking for him"
A civil force granted the legal authority for law enforcement and maintaining public order.
"After the riot broke out, the police quickly arrived to restore calm and enforce the law."
In plain English: Police are government workers who keep people safe and catch those who break the law.
"The police arrived at the scene to investigate the accident."
Usage: Use "police" as a plural noun to refer to the collective group of officers or the department itself, rather than as a singular countable term for an individual officer. For example, say "The police are investigating" instead of "a police is investigating."
To enforce the law and keep order among (a group).
"The police stepped in to restore calm after the crowd began rioting during the protest."
In plain English: To police something means to keep order and make sure people follow the rules.
"The police officer was asked to stop and question the driver about the speeding ticket."
Usage: Do not use "police" as a verb in everyday conversation; instead, use synonyms like regulate or monitor to describe keeping order. Reserve this specific usage only for formal contexts where an authority body actively enforces laws within a defined group.
The word "police" comes from the Middle French term police, which was borrowed from the Latin polītīa meaning "state or government." This Latin form originally derived from the Ancient Greek polis, referring to a city-state, before entering English with its modern sense of law enforcement.