Meaning & use
policy
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Meanings
nouncountable or uncountable
A plan or set of rules chosen by a government, company or group to guide what it does.
Grammar: Countable for a specific plan (a new policy), uncountable for general practice.
Patterns
- a policy on something
- a policy of doing something
- change policy
The school has a strict policy on phones in class.
The government announced a new policy on housing.
It is company policy to answer every email within a day.
nouncountable
A written agreement with an insurance company that promises payment if something bad happens.
Grammar: Often used with take out or cancel: take out a policy.
Patterns
- take out a policy
- a policy on something
- cancel a policy
She took out a policy to cover her car.
The policy pays for damage caused by floods.
He forgot to renew his travel insurance policy.
noununcountableold-fashioned
A sensible or wise way of acting in a particular situation, as in honesty being the best policy.
Grammar: Usually appears in a fixed saying or with a modifier: good policy.
Patterns
- it is good policy to do something
It is good policy to check your work before handing it in.
Honesty is the best policy.
He thought silence was the safest policy.
Word forms
| plural | policies |
|---|
Common combinations
- adopt a policy
- The city adopted a policy of free bus rides for students.
- foreign policy
- The minister gave a speech on foreign policy.
- privacy policy
- Please read our privacy policy before signing up.
- insurance policy
- The insurance policy covers theft and fire.
- policy change
- A policy change means all staff must work on-site twice a week.
Synonyms and how they differ
- strategy
- Strategy is a plan for reaching a goal, whereas policy is a rule or principle that guides decisions over time.
- guideline
- A guideline is advice that people may choose to follow, while a policy is more official and expected to be followed.
- rule
- A rule is a single instruction, but a policy is usually a broader approach that can include several rules.
- protocol
- A protocol is a fixed set of steps for a particular procedure, especially in medicine or diplomacy.
Word family
Commonly confused: policy or police?
policy vs police
Police are the officers who enforce the law, while policy is a plan or rule. They share an origin but are different words.
Practice
The company's ___ on working from home says employees may do so two days a week.
Choose one answer.
A policy is an official set of rules, which fits the sentence. Police are law officers, and politic and poetry do not fit the structure.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “policy”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.