"12" meaning in English

See 12 in All languages combined, or Wiktionary

Noun

Forms: 12s [plural]
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”. Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} 12 (countable and uncountable, plural 12s)
  1. (US, slang, derogatory) Police or law enforcement, collectively. Tags: US, countable, derogatory, slang, uncountable
    Sense id: en-12-en-noun-eoXmS0wP Categories (other): American English, English terms with collocations, English symbols, Anarchism, Law enforcement Disambiguation of English symbols: 24 19 13 27 8 2 6 Disambiguation of Anarchism: 38 19 8 36 Disambiguation of Law enforcement: 91 2 1 6
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 1

Noun

Forms: 12s [plural]
Etymology: Shortening. Head templates: {{en-noun|~}} 12 (countable and uncountable, plural 12s)
  1. (sports, snowboarding, skiing) Clipping of 1260 (“1260° spin”) Tags: abbreviation, alt-of, clipping, countable, uncountable Alternative form of: 1260 (extra: 1260° spin)
    Sense id: en-12-en-noun-pA70dLSD Categories (other): Skiing, Snowboarding, Sports, English entries with incorrect language header, English links with manual fragments, English symbols, Pages with entries, English words spelled without vowels, Anarchism Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 32 19 27 10 5 1 Disambiguation of English links with manual fragments: 18 40 10 20 6 1 4 Disambiguation of English symbols: 24 19 13 27 8 2 6 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 4 24 16 28 23 1 5 Disambiguation of English words spelled without vowels: 18 82 Disambiguation of Anarchism: 38 19 8 36 Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, skiing, snowboarding, sports
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 2

Symbol

Head templates: {{head|en|symbol}} 12
  1. (sports) Used by fans of American football, positioning themselves as the 12th member of an 11-player team.
    Sense id: en-12-en-symbol-rg-j3PwL Categories (other): Sports, English entries with incorrect language header, English symbols, Pages with entries Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 32 19 27 10 5 1 Disambiguation of English symbols: 24 19 13 27 8 2 6 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 4 24 16 28 23 1 5 Topics: hobbies, lifestyle, sports
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 3

Symbol

Etymology: The alphanumeric code for AB, an initialism for the Aryan Brotherhood. Head templates: {{head|en|symbol}} 12
  1. (neo-Nazism) The Aryan Brotherhood: an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi prison gang and crime syndicate. Related terms: 12-gon
    Sense id: en-12-en-symbol-gxkjUOMv Categories (other): Neo-Nazism, English entries with incorrect language header, English links with redundant alt parameters, English symbols, Pages with 2 entries, Pages with entries, Anarchism, Leftism Disambiguation of English entries with incorrect language header: 6 32 19 27 10 5 1 Disambiguation of English links with redundant alt parameters: 13 22 15 29 13 6 2 Disambiguation of English symbols: 24 19 13 27 8 2 6 Disambiguation of Pages with 2 entries: 5 20 14 26 16 1 18 Disambiguation of Pages with entries: 4 24 16 28 23 1 5 Disambiguation of Anarchism: 38 19 8 36 Disambiguation of Leftism: 5 30 27 38
The following are not (yet) sense-disambiguated
Etymology number: 4

Inflected forms

{
  "etymology_number": 1,
  "etymology_text": "Of uncertain origin. Widespread use of the phrase as an anti-police slogan grew following the 2014 killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri.\n* Possibly from 1312, an alternative form of ACAB (“all cops are bastards”) in which the letters are substituted with their position in the alphabet.\n* 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.\nLikely 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”.",
  "forms": [
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        "plural"
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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "American English",
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          "_dis": "24 19 13 27 8 2 6",
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          "_dis": "38 19 8 36",
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        },
        {
          "_dis": "91 2 1 6",
          "kind": "other",
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          "name": "Law enforcement",
          "orig": "en:Law enforcement",
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          "english": "fuck the police",
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "fuck 12",
          "translation": "fuck the police",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Police or law enforcement, collectively."
      ],
      "id": "en-12-en-noun-eoXmS0wP",
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        [
          "Police",
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          "law enforcement"
        ]
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, slang, derogatory) Police or law enforcement, collectively."
      ],
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        "US",
        "countable",
        "derogatory",
        "slang",
        "uncountable"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Adam-12",
    "Migos",
    "Y.R.N. (Young Rich Niggas)",
    "killing of Michael Brown"
  ],
  "word": "12"
}

{
  "etymology_number": 2,
  "etymology_text": "Shortening.",
  "forms": [
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      "form": "12s",
      "tags": [
        "plural"
      ]
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  ],
  "head_templates": [
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  "lang": "English",
  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "noun",
  "senses": [
    {
      "alt_of": [
        {
          "extra": "1260° spin",
          "word": "1260"
        }
      ],
      "categories": [
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Skiing",
          "orig": "en:Skiing",
          "parents": [],
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        },
        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Snowboarding",
          "orig": "en:Snowboarding",
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          "source": "w"
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        {
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Sports",
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          "source": "w"
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          "_dis": "6 32 19 27 10 5 1",
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          "_dis": "18 40 10 20 6 1 4",
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          "_dis": "24 19 13 27 8 2 6",
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          "_dis": "4 24 16 28 23 1 5",
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          "_dis": "18 82",
          "kind": "other",
          "name": "English words spelled without vowels",
          "parents": [],
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          "_dis": "38 19 8 36",
          "kind": "other",
          "langcode": "en",
          "name": "Anarchism",
          "orig": "en:Anarchism",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w+disamb"
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      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Clipping of 1260 (“1260° spin”)"
      ],
      "id": "en-12-en-noun-pA70dLSD",
      "links": [
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          "sports",
          "sports"
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        [
          "snowboarding",
          "snowboarding#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "skiing",
          "skiing#Noun"
        ],
        [
          "1260",
          "1260#English"
        ]
      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sports, snowboarding, skiing) Clipping of 1260 (“1260° spin”)"
      ],
      "tags": [
        "abbreviation",
        "alt-of",
        "clipping",
        "countable",
        "uncountable"
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "skiing",
        "snowboarding",
        "sports"
      ]
    }
  ],
  "word": "12"
}

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  "lang_code": "en",
  "pos": "symbol",
  "senses": [
    {
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        {
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          "langcode": "en",
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          "orig": "en:Sports",
          "parents": [],
          "source": "w"
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        {
          "_dis": "6 32 19 27 10 5 1",
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          "kind": "other",
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      ],
      "glosses": [
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      ],
      "id": "en-12-en-symbol-rg-j3PwL",
      "links": [
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          "sports",
          "sports"
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      "raw_glosses": [
        "(sports) Used by fans of American football, positioning themselves as the 12th member of an 11-player team."
      ],
      "topics": [
        "hobbies",
        "lifestyle",
        "sports"
      ]
    }
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}

{
  "etymology_number": 4,
  "etymology_text": "The alphanumeric code for AB, an initialism for the Aryan Brotherhood.",
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  "pos": "symbol",
  "senses": [
    {
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          "name": "Neo-Nazism",
          "orig": "en:Neo-Nazism",
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        {
          "_dis": "6 32 19 27 10 5 1",
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          "_dis": "5 20 14 26 16 1 18",
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      "glosses": [
        "The Aryan Brotherhood: an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi prison gang and crime syndicate."
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          "neo-Nazi"
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        "(neo-Nazism) The Aryan Brotherhood: an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi prison gang and crime syndicate."
      ],
      "related": [
        {
          "word": "12-gon"
        }
      ]
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  "wikipedia": [
    "Aryan Brotherhood"
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  "word": "12"
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{
  "categories": [
    "English countable nouns",
    "English entries with incorrect language header",
    "English lemmas",
    "English links with manual fragments",
    "English links with redundant alt parameters",
    "English nouns",
    "English symbols",
    "English terms spelled with numbers",
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    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Anarchism",
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  "etymology_number": 1,
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  "forms": [
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        "plural"
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  "head_templates": [
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          "english": "fuck the police",
          "tags": [
            "collocation"
          ],
          "text": "fuck 12",
          "translation": "fuck the police",
          "type": "example"
        }
      ],
      "glosses": [
        "Police or law enforcement, collectively."
      ],
      "links": [
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          "derogatory",
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        [
          "Police",
          "police#English"
        ],
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          "law enforcement",
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      ],
      "raw_glosses": [
        "(US, slang, derogatory) Police or law enforcement, collectively."
      ],
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    "Adam-12",
    "Migos",
    "Y.R.N. (Young Rich Niggas)",
    "killing of Michael Brown"
  ],
  "word": "12"
}

{
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    "English terms spelled with numbers",
    "English uncountable nouns",
    "English words spelled without vowels",
    "Pages with 2 entries",
    "Pages with entries",
    "en:Anarchism",
    "en:Law enforcement",
    "en:Leftism"
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  "etymology_number": 2,
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          "extra": "1260° spin",
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        "Clipping of 1260 (“1260° spin”)"
      ],
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        "(sports, snowboarding, skiing) Clipping of 1260 (“1260° spin”)"
      ],
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        "clipping",
        "countable",
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        "sports"
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}

{
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        "(sports) Used by fans of American football, positioning themselves as the 12th member of an 11-player team."
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        "sports"
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}

{
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    "English entries with incorrect language header",
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    "Pages with 2 entries",
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    "en:Anarchism",
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  "related": [
    {
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        "en:Neo-Nazism"
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        "The Aryan Brotherhood: an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi prison gang and crime syndicate."
      ],
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        "(neo-Nazism) The Aryan Brotherhood: an American white supremacist, neo-Nazi prison gang and crime syndicate."
      ]
    }
  ],
  "wikipedia": [
    "Aryan Brotherhood"
  ],
  "word": "12"
}

Download raw JSONL data for 12 meaning in English (5.4kB)

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: neo-Nazism",
  "path": [
    "12"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "symbol",
  "title": "12",
  "trace": ""
}

{
  "called_from": "form_descriptions/1831",
  "msg": "unrecognized sense qualifier: neo-Nazism",
  "path": [
    "12"
  ],
  "section": "English",
  "subsection": "symbol",
  "title": "12",
  "trace": ""
}

This page is a part of the kaikki.org machine-readable English dictionary. This dictionary is based on structured data extracted on 2026-02-14 from the enwiktionary dump dated 2026-02-01 using wiktextract (f492ef9 and 59dc20b). The data shown on this site has been post-processed and various details (e.g., extra categories) removed, some information disambiguated, and additional data merged from other sources. See the raw data download page for the unprocessed wiktextract data.

If you use this data in academic research, please cite Tatu Ylonen: Wiktextract: Wiktionary as Machine-Readable Structured Data, Proceedings of the 13th Conference on Language Resources and Evaluation (LREC), pp. 1317-1325, Marseille, 20-25 June 2022. Linking to the relevant page(s) under https://kaikki.org would also be greatly appreciated.