Constable
//ˈkʌnstəbəl// name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 One holding the lowest rank in most Commonwealth police forces. (See also chief constable.)
"As soon as Julia returned with a constable, Timothy, who was on the point of exhaustion, prepared to give over to him gratefully. The newcomer turned out to be a powerful youngster, fully trained and eager to help, and he stripped off his tunic at once."
- 2 a lawman with less authority and jurisdiction than a sheriff wordnet
- 3 A police officer or an officer with equivalent powers. UK
- 4 a police officer of the lowest rank wordnet
- 5 An officer of a noble court in the Middle Ages, usually a senior army commander. (See also marshal). historical
Show 4 more definitions
- 6 The warden of a castle.
- 7 An elected or appointed public officer, usually at municipal level, responsible for maintaining order or serving writs and court orders. US
- 8 An elected head of a parish (also known as a connétable)
- 9 A large butterfly, Dichorragia nesimachus, family Nymphalidae, of Asia.
Verb
- 1 To act as a constable or policeman. dated, intransitive
Proper Noun
- 1 An English surname originating as an occupation from Old French conestable (“constable”).
- 2 A town in Franklin County, New York; named for landowner William Constable.
- 3 John Constable, English painter.
Example
More examples"The police constable arrested the teenager for shoplifting."
Etymology
From Middle English constable, cunstable, constabil, connestable, cunestable, from Old French conestable, from Latin comes stabulī (“officer of the stables”). For the sense-development; compare marshal. Doublet of connétable.
Related phrases
More for "constable"
Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.