What does policewoman mean?
A policewoman is a woman who works as a police officer, responsible for maintaining public safety, enforcing laws, investigating crimes, and assisting members of the public. The word belongs to a traditional English pattern of gendered occupational titles, like policeman and policewoman. Although it is fully established and remains readily understandable, many speakers and official bodies now prefer the gender-neutral term police officer, particularly when a person’s sex or gender is not relevant to the context. Using policewoman can be appropriate in descriptions, stories, and situations where the subject’s gender is relevant. The word is not usually treated as insulting or outdated merely because it is marked; its acceptability depends more on whether the speaker’s use of gender is clear, relevant, and consistent with contemporary preferences.
nounA woman employed as a police officer. The term is used when the gender of the officer is relevant or when referring specifically to a woman in that role.
- A woman employed as a police officer.
"The policewoman directed traffic while the accident was being cleared."
"A policewoman questioned the witnesses about the break-in."
"The report noted that the policewoman had been trained in forensic evidence collection."
The irregular plural changes the vowel sound in woman to match the second syllable of policewomen.
"Several policewomen attended the community meeting."
The word belongs to a small family of English job titles that explicitly mark a person’s gender, a convention now increasingly replaced by gender-neutral terms such as police officer.
Reviewed by Deb Chak, Editor. AI-assisted content curated by RJS Tech Solutions LLP.
Where does policewoman come from?
The word is formed by combining police with the suffix -woman, a traditional feminine occupational ending. Its first element reflects English police, borrowed from French police, which developed from the Italian polizia, from Latin politia, meaning organization or administration and ultimately related to Greek politeia, meaning citizenship or the administration of a state. The element -woman combines the Old English wifman, meaning woman, with an inherited plural-forming element.
How policewoman is actually used
In contemporary usage, police officer is often preferred when the individual’s gender is not relevant. The marked form policewoman remains natural when gender is specifically being identified, especially in narrative or historical contexts.
Easily confused with policewoman
A police officer can be any gender, while policewoman specifically identifies a woman serving in that role.