Constabulary

//kənˈstæbjʊləɹi// adj, noun

adj, noun ·Uncommon ·Advanced level

Definitions

Noun
  1. 1
    A police force. countable, uncountable
  2. 2
    the force of policemen and officers wordnet
  3. 3
    The police in a particular district or area. countable, uncountable

    "[…] the wretched creature went to the police for help; she was versed in the law, and perhaps had spared no pains to keep on good terms with the local constabulary."

Adjective
  1. 1
    Of or relating to constables. not-comparable
  2. 2
    Characteristic of police; police-like, rather than military. not-comparable

    "Constabulary missions are different from fighting wars."

Example

More examples

"Constabulary missions are different from fighting wars."

Etymology

From mediaeval Latin conestabularia, a noun use of the feminine version of conestabularius, from Latin constabulus, from comes stabuli, literally ‘master of the stables’.

Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.