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policeman

policeman

303 1.0
A man whose job is to keep people safe and enforce laws
  • noun
  • /ˈpoʊlɪsˌmæn/
translation icon : policía
  • He's a friend of mine, a policeman.
  • serve as a policeman
  • a military policeman
  • a traffic policeman

And then we obviously a policeman was taken hostage.

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Examples

  • Uh, how did you become a policeman?

  • We were there for over an hour in broad daylight by this point before single policeman turned up.

  • And I say to the policeman, Sir, I did not.

  • And we had a policeman as well who worked alongside us.

  • This is the policeman in charge.

  • We had a policeman in uniform on the set.

  • My fears were confirmed when the tough policeman ordered me to the police car.

    Fiction book (1990)
  • Because he, as a young man, he was a policeman in Worcester, MA who directed traffic.

  • Why didn't you describe the killer to the policeman when he asked you?

  • The policeman helped the lost child find his parents in the crowded park.

Synonyms

cop
vspoliceman
  • Informal
6.3

A person who works for the police

is the male formal role rather than a casual or insulting expression
officer
vspoliceman
1.2

A person who works for the police and enforces the law

focuses on male membership rather than general role
police officer
vspoliceman
560 1.1

A person who keeps people safe and stops crime

is the male term stressing gender rather than a gender-neutral role
trooper
vspoliceman
  • US
112 4.1

A police officer who rides a horse to watch streets and crowds

is a male force member without specific jurisdiction or mounted focus
constable
vspoliceman
  • UK
99 4.1

A police officer of low rank who works in local communities

is the male role without implying lower rank
state trooper
vspoliceman
  • US
46 3.5

A police officer who works for a state government, often on highways

is a male force member working to keep order locally and generally
copper
vspoliceman
  • Slang
33 9.0

A police officer who keeps people safe and enforces laws

is the male role and not the old-fashioned British slang term
patrolman
vspoliceman
  • US
28 4.2

A police officer who walks around an area to keep people safe

is the male force member who keeps order broadly rather than focus on one area
lawman
vspoliceman
  • US
28 6.5

A man who works to enforce the law, like a sheriff or police officer

is a modern male force member rather than a historical or western figure
peace officer
vspoliceman
  • Formal
9 3.5

A person who has legal power to make people follow the law, like a police officer or sheriff

is specifically a male force member, not any legal enforcement title
law officer
vspoliceman
5 2.2

A person who makes sure people follow the law, like a police officer or sheriff

is the male force role narrower than this broader enforcement category
flatfoot
vspoliceman
  • Offensive
3 8.8

A police officer who patrols on foot in a neighborhood

is the male force member, not the informal, foot-patrolling label
police constable
vspoliceman
  • UK
1 2.8

A low-ranking person who enforces the law and helps people

is a male force member with no rank emphasis
rozzer
vspoliceman
  • Archaic
1 9.9

A British slang word for a police officer

is the male role and not the regional slang expression

Compounds

A soldier who enforces rules and guards prisoners

A person who rides a motorcycle to control traffic and stop drivers going too fast

policeman bird
  • Australian
9.9

A large mostly white stork with a black neck that lives in Australian wetlands

How Formal

law officer
5 2.2
police officer
560 1.1
policeman
303 1.0
cop
  • Informal
6.3

Surface Forms

policeman singular
policemen plural

Morphology

policeman = police + man (transparent) = police + man

A straightforward compound of 'police' + 'man' whose meaning 'male member of the police' is directly inferable.

Etymology

Policeman is simply police + man. The word police comes from an old Greek word polis meaning 'city' and later came to mean 'public order', so a policeman is a person whose job is to keep order and safety in a city or town.