policing

[ puh-lee-sing ]

noun

1. the act of maintaining public order and security, enforcing the law, or regulating or controlling something, by or as if by members of a police force:

   No matter what style is adopted for the policing of a community, officers must use discretion in interpreting the activities of citizens.

   Careful family use of the internet doesn't need to be a punitive policing of children's activities online.

2. Military. the act of cleaning up a camp or post or of keeping it clean:

   After the major’s visit, the policing of the entire camp and all the fighting positions improved 100 percent.

Other Words From

• self-po·lic·ing adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of policing¹

First recorded in 1830–40; police ( def ) + -ing ¹( def )

Example Sentences

The driver told police he heard gunshots and discovered the damage when he arrived home.

From Washington Post

According to an affidavit from a Fairfax County detective, the investigation began last year, when a 17-year-old high school student approached local police to say friends of hers had been paid to have sex with a man in his 40s.

From Washington Post

He was being closely followed by a police vehicle in an alley when he emerged onto a street and was fatally struck by a van.

From Washington Post

The funding could help investigators reopen as many as 60 cold cases over the next three years, Prince George’s prosecutors and police said at a news conference Thursday.

From Washington Post

Counterdemonstrators also attended, with the two sides engaged in yelling and fights that police were forced to break up.

From Washington Post

The need for increased community policing is more urgent than ever before.

From The Daily Beast

Community policing is expensive and, in an era of budget cuts, increasingly rare.

From The Daily Beast

If we want that to change, then all of us have to encourage our legislators to make funding community policing a priority.

From The Daily Beast

In the wake of this turmoil, the New York Post reported that the police had stopped policing.

From The Daily Beast

Does that mean a reduction in policing would be a good thing?

From The Daily Beast

We worked hard "policing up" ourselves and our equipment during the few days we stayed at Bouligny.

From Project Gutenberg

They were both on the policing shift that week, so it was easy for them to arrange to get their share of camp-work over early.

From Project Gutenberg

And so the policing of the western country from Fort Gibson went on and on.

From Project Gutenberg

There were local bands of regulators policing nearly every district in Alabama.

From Project Gutenberg

The dinner hour had passed, likewise the second policing of the day had been attended to by the humble plebes.

From Project Gutenberg