1069
politically correct
defending opinions, ideas etc as if in an argument, rather
than simply expressing or explaining them —**ly** /kli:/ *adv*
**'pole po,sition** *n* [C;U] the front position at the beginning of
a car race: *By doing the fastest practice lap Senna got (the) pole
position.*
**'Pole Star, pole star** *n* the **Pole Star** a star that is almost
directly over the North Pole and that can be seen from the
northern part of the world
**'pole vault** *n* 1 [C] a jump made over a high raised bar with
the help of a long pole 2 [the S] the sport of doing this
—**pole-vault** *v* [I] —**~er** *n*
**po·lice¹** /pəˈlis/ *n* [(the) P] an official body of men and
women whose job is to protect people and property, to make
everyone obey the law, to catch criminals etc. In Britain,
people can call the police quickly by dialling (DIAL) 999; in
the US, the number is 911: *The police have caught the
murderer. | Have you reported the incident to the police? | Extra
police were rushed to the scene of the trouble. | She wants to
join the police force. | a police car* ➔ *see also* **MILITARY POLICE,
SECRET POLICE**
**police²** *v* [T] 1 to control (a place) (as if) using police:
*increased policing of the inner cities | The army policed the
riot-torn city.* 2 to control; keep a watch on: *A new body has
been set up to police the nuclear power industry.*
**po'lice ,constable** *n BrE fml* ➔ *see* **P.C.**
**po'lice dog** *n* 1 a dog, usually an Alsatian, which is trained
to help the police find drugs or catch criminals 2 *AmE*
**ALSATIAN**
**po·lice·man** /pəˈliːsmən/ *n pl -men* /-mən/ 1 a male police
officer 2 a policeman's lot is not a happy one *quote* a
slightly changed phrase from an OPERA by Gilbert and
Sullivan, often used when saying how difficult the job of the
police is
**po'lice ,officer** *n* a member of a police force
**CULTURAL NOTE** In the US, there is a STEREOTYPE of police
officers sitting in places that sell DOUGHNUTS all night, and
eating too much while they are waiting to be given police
work to do. In the UK, the old-fashioned stereotype of a
policeman is of a friendly man who walks along the street
and helps people, for example by telling them how to get
to a place, or by telling them the time.
**Po,lice Service of ,Northern 'Ireland** ➔ **PSNI, THE**
**po'lice state** *n derog* a country in which most activities of
the citizens are controlled by (secret) political police
**po'lice ,station** *n* the local office of the police in a town,
part of a city etc
**po·lice·wom·an** /pəˈliːsˌwʊmən/ *n pl -women* /-ˌwɪmɪn/ a
female police officer
**pol·i·cy¹** /ˈpɒləsi || ˈpɑː-/ *n* [C;U] 1 a course of action for
dealing with a particular matter or situation, especially as
chosen by a political party, government, business company
etc: *The government must evolve new policies to reduce
unemployment. | The nationalization of industries is not
government policy. (≈they do not intend to do it) | What is
the company's policy on employing disabled people? | economic
policy | a policy statement* 2 a course or principle of action,
especially one that is to one's own advantage: *It's bad policy
to smoke too much; it may harm your health. | As they say,
honesty is the best policy.*
**policy²** also **insurance policy** *n* a written statement of the
details of an agreement with an insurance company: *an
all-risks policy | policy-holders*
**po·li·o** also **po·li·o·my·e·li·tis**
/ˌpəliəʊmaəˈlaɪtɪs || ˌpoʊ-/ *n* [U] a serious infectious disease
of the nerves in the SPINE, often resulting in a lasting
PARALYSIS (=inability to move certain muscles)
**pol·ish¹** /ˈpɒlɪʃ || pɑː-/ *v* [T(UP)] to make smooth, bright, and
shiny by continual rubbing: *Polish your shoes with a brush. |
He polished up the old copper coins.* —**~er** *n*: *an electric floor
polisher*
**polish sthg.** ⇔ **off** *phr v* [T] *infml* to finish (food, work etc),
especially quickly or easily: *He polished off a plate of fish and
chips in no time at all.*
**polish sthg.** ⇔ **up** *phr v* [T] to improve by practising: *I'll
need to polish up my French if I'm going to France for my
holidays.*
**polish²** *n* 1 [U] (*often in comb.*) a liquid, powder, PASTE etc, used
in polishing a surface: *a tin of brown shoe polish | floor polish*
➔ *see also* **FRENCH POLISH** 2 [S] a smooth shiny surface
produced by rubbing: *A hot plate will spoil the table's
polish.* 3 [S] an act of polishing: *These shoes need a
polish!* 4 [U] the quality of being POLISHED: *His writing has
potential but lacks polish.*
**Po·lish¹** /ˈpəlɪʃ/ *adj* from or connected with Poland, its
people, or their language
**Po·lish²** *n* [U] the language of Poland
**po·lished** /ˈpɒlɪʃt || ˈpɑː-/ *adj* 1 (of a piece of artistic work, a
performance etc) done with great skill and control 2 (of
manners etc) polite and graceful
**pol·it·bu·ro** /ˈpɒlɪtbjʊərəʊ, pəˈlɪt- || ˈpɑːlɪt-, pəˈlɪt-/ *n pl*
**-ros** (*often cap*) the chief decision-making committee of a
Communist party or Communist government
**po·lite** /pəˈlaɪt/ *adj* 1 having or showing good man-
ners, sensitivity to other people's feelings, and/or correct
social behaviour: *What polite well-behaved children! | It's not
considered polite to talk with your mouth full. | a polite
refusal | I know he said he liked it, but he was only being
polite. (≈in fact, he didn't like it)* ➔ *opposite* **RUDE, IMPOL-**
**LITE** 2 *old-fash* showing fineness of feeling, good educa-
tion and manners etc; REFINED: *polite society* —**~ly** *adv*
—**~ness** *n* [U]
**po,lite so'ciety** *n* [U] (the company of) the set of people
who are considered to have a good education, good man-
ners, and fine feelings: *That's not the kind of word you'd use
in polite society. | an ex-farmer who felt ill at ease in polite
society*
**pol·i·tic** /ˈpɒlətɪk || ˈpɑː-/ *adj fml* (of behaviour or actions)
well-judged and likely to bring advantage; PRUDENT: *It would
be politic to agree with him.* ➔ *see also* **BODY POLITIC**
**po·lit·i·cal** /pəˈlɪtɪkəl/ *adj* 1 [no comp.] of public affairs
and/or the government of a country and its relations with
other countries: *the loss of political freedoms | a country's
political institutions (=its law-making bodies, systems of
government etc) | attempts to find a political solution (≈not a
military one) to the problems of the region* 2 [no comp.] of
(party) politics: *She has very strong political opinions. | the
newspaper's political editor* 3 [no comp.] charged with or
being an act harmful to a government: *a political
offence* 4 very interested in or active in politics: *The students
in this university are very political.* 5 *usually derog* connected
with, influenced by, or done for reasons of personal, group,
or governmental advantage rather than for the reasons
officially given: *a political decision | The tax cuts were made
for purely political reasons.* —**~ly** /kli/ *adv*: *politically moti-*
*vated strikes*
**po,litical 'action com,mittee** *abbrev* **PAC** *n AmE* an
organization formed by a business **INTEREST GROUP** or **TRADE**
**UNION** to raise money to help people who support their ideas
to run for **CONGRESS**
**po,litical 'activist** *n sometimes derog* a person taking a very
active part in a political movement
**po,litical a'sylum** *n* [U] the right to remain safely in
another country, for a person who cannot live safely in their
own because of the political situation: *a Tamil refugee
seeking political asylum*
**po,litical e'conomy** *n* [U] the study of the way nations
manage the making and use of wealth
**po,litical ge'ography** *n* [U] the study of the Earth's surface
as it is divided up into different countries, rather than as
marked by rivers, mountain ranges etc
**po,litically cor'rect,** also **PC** *adj* correct according to a set
of LIBERAL opinions, e.g. that black people and women
should have equal chances to get jobs, education etc: *His
politically correct speech stated that university students should
study literature written by blacks and women as well as
Shakespeare and Homer.* —**political correctness** *n* [U]
**CULTURAL NOTE**
When people talk about political
correctness, they mean the language used to describe
some groups of people, that other people may find