beatsman

noun

beatsman

noun

Etymology From beat + -s- + -man.

1

Dated, Rare A policeman who walks the beat.

Police authorities are similarly aware that motor cars and wireless and infra-red photography and photo-telegraphy will not avail in the crime war without the familiar, slow-moving beatsman as the broad base of the whole organisation.1948, The Spectator, volume 180, page 730:

Synonyms: beat cop

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.