Jarana Spanish

tombo

Short answer

In Lima, "tombo" means a police officer. The register is muy coloquial — fine among friends, out of place in a job interview or anything written to an institution. The standard Spanish equivalent is "policía". In use: Cuidado, hay tombo en la esquina.

Part of speechsustantivo
Registermuy coloquial
Standard Spanishpolicía
In useCuidado, hay tombo en la esquina.
Careful, there is a cop on the corner.

Draft entry — needs a native-speaker check before publishing.

Informal and not respectful. Understand it; do not use it where an officer can hear you.