Speakur

Word Pronunciation & Dictionary

12

Word Rarity Common

Frequency: 5.32 in modern English

Syllables
12
IPA
0
Scrabble Score
0
Letters
1
Syllables
0
Unique Chars

Meaning

noun

Police or law enforcement, collectively.

American usage; Countable; Derogatory; Slang; Uncountable

noun

Clipping of 1260 (“1260° spin”)

Countable; Uncountable

symbol

Used by fans of American football, positioning themselves as the 12th member of an 11-player team.

symbol

The Aryan Brotherhood: an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi prison gang and crime syndicate.

Example Sentences

Etymology

Of uncertain origin. Widespread use of the phrase as an anti-police slogan grew following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. * Possibly from 1312, an alternative form of ACAB (“all cops are bastards”) in which the letters are substituted with their position in the alphabet. * Alternatively, from the American police procedural television series Adam-12 (1968–1975), in which 1-Adam-12 refers to a patrol unit and its radio call sign. Likely popularized by "F*ck 12", a song by American hip-hop group Migos from their 2013 mixtape Y.R.N. (Young Rich Niggas), which uses 12 in reference to the police while describing a narcotics raid: “12 kickin' in my front door […] 12 in my home, they won't leave me alone”.

Usage

Subject

Wiktionary places this term in Law.

Inflected Forms

12s (plural)

Phrases

12-gon

Frequently Paired Words

12-gon

Synonyms

twelve xii dozen

Questions

What does 12 mean?
Police or law enforcement, collectively.
Where does 12 come from?
Of uncertain origin. Widespread use of the phrase as an anti-police slogan grew following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. * Possibly from 1312, an alternative form of ACAB (“all cops are bastards”) in which the letters are substituted with their position in the alphabet. * Alternatively, from the American police procedural television series Adam-12 (1968–1975), in which 1-Adam-12 refers to a patrol unit and its radio call sign. Likely popularized by "F*ck 12", a song by American hip-hop group Migos from their 2013 mixtape Y.R.N. (Young Rich Niggas), which uses 12 in reference to the police while describing a narcotics raid: “12 kickin' in my front door […] 12 in my home, they won't leave me alone”.

How to pronounce 12

  1. Open the pronunciation page — Open the Speakur entry for “12”.
  2. Read the phonetic spelling — Read the IPA spelling () so you know which sounds to aim for.
  3. Play the audio — Click Play to hear reference audio for “12”.
  4. Repeat and practice — Say “12” aloud, matching stress and vowels until it feels natural.