policy
A principle of behaviour, conduct which an entity (government, organization, etc.) applies or seeks to follow, especially as formally expressed by an authoritative body.
Example
“The Communist Party has a policy of returning power to the workers.”
Other meanings
A document describing such a policy.
“Please print extra copies of this policy and post them where it will be easy for everyone to see.”
Wise, advantageous, or politic conduct; prudence, formerly also with connotations of craftiness.
Example sentences
Word history
From Ancient Greek "πολιτεία" (citizenship; polis, (city) state; government).
Where this comes from
This definition is adapted from “policy” on Wiktionary, by its contributors; example sentences are from Tatoeba, credited to their authors above, published under CC BY-SA 4.0. This page is published under the same licence.