secret police
noun
a police force that functions as the enforcement arm of a government's political policies and whose activities, which often include surveillance, intimidation, and physical violence as a means of suppressing dissent, are usually concealed from the public.
Also called
security police.
Origin of secret police
First recorded in 1920–25
Words nearby secret police
secret,
secret agent,
secret ballot,
secret history,
secret partner,
secret police,
secret santa,
secret sauce,
secret service,
secret society,
secreta
Example sentences from the Web for secret police
But they were careful lest they be heard by a secret-police spy.
The Story of Mankind |Hendrik Van Loon
British Dictionary definitions for secret police
secret police
noun
a police force that operates relatively secretly to check subversion or political dissent