Dictionary

copwise en · ADJ

Etymology

From cop + wise.

Meanings

1. (informal) Possessing the knowledge and expertise typical of police officers; having police smarts.
   • They were copwise. Hiltz knew him from the Deutsches Haus. Smith provoked discord routinely. They were copwise. 2014, James Ellroy, Perfidia:
   • Like streetwise residents in underpoliced neighborhoods, copwise individuals learn to reinterpret the mundane scenarios, spaces, and people found in the neighborhood. 2016, Forrest Stuart, Down, Out, and Under Arrest:
   • Steve went against his copwise instincts and entered the building anyway. 2015, Billy Van, Dead of Night:

Forms