crime Hear it!

crime Definition

crime (krīm)

noun

  1. an act committed in violation of a law prohibiting it, or omitted in violation of a law ordering it; often, specif., such an act of a serious nature, as a felony: crimes are variously punishable by death, imprisonment, or the imposition of certain fines or restrictions: the range of crime includes felonies and misdemeanors, but not petty violations of local ordinances
  2. an offense against morality; sin
  3. criminal acts, collectively
  4. Informal something regrettable or deplorable; shame it's a crime you didn't finish school

Etymology: OFr < L crimen, verdict, object of reproach, offense, prob. < IE *(s)krei- (> scream), extension of base *ker-: see raven

crime Synonyms

crime

n.

  1. An outrageous act

    offense, transgression, misdemeanor, felony, violation, outrage, wickedness, immorality, misdeed, infringement, wrongdoing, depravity, antisocial behavior, abomination, misconduct, corruption, vice, villainy, iniquity, delinquency, negligence, wrong, trespass, malefaction, malfeasance, tort, dereliction, lawlessness, criminality, crime in the streets, white-collar crime, capital crime, scandal, infraction, atrocity, enormity, crime of passion, cold-blooded crime, war crime, crime against humanity, mortal sin, deed without a name*; see also sense 2, evil 1, 2, sin.

  2. A serious infraction of the law

    Crimes include: treason, homicide, murder, voluntary manslaughter, involuntary manslaughter, simple assault, aggravated assault, rape, battery, mayhem, larceny, theft, robbery, burglary, holdup, mugging, kidnapping, swindling, arson, defrauding, embezzlement, smuggling, extortion, bribery, malicious mischief, breach of the peace, libel, breaking prison, perjury, act injurious to the public welfare, aggravated misdemeanor, conspiracy, counterfeiting, treason, inciting to revolt, sedition;

crime Law Definition

n

An act or omission that violates the law and is punishable by a sentence of incarceration. See also felony, misdemeanor, offense, and violation.
anticipatory crime
See inchoate crime.
bias crime
See hate crime.
common-law crime
An offense that was a crime under the common law. Nearly all crimes, including offenses that were common-law crimes, are now defined by statute and are, thus, statutory crimes. Also, most states no longer recognize common-law crimes.
computer crime
A crime, such as committing fraud over the Internet, that requires the knowledge or utilization of computer technology. Also called cybercrime.
crime against nature
One of the three sexual acts (oral sex and anal sex, whether with a person of the opposite or same sex, and sex with animals) that were considered crimes under the common law and that, in some cases, are currently a statutory crime. Also called unnatural act. See also bestiality and sodomy.
crime of passion
A crime committed in a moment of sudden or extreme anger or other emotional disturbance sufficient enough for a reasonable person to lose control and not reflect on what he or she is doing.
crime of violenc
e. See violent crime.
cybercrime
See computer crime.
hate crime
A crime motivated mostly by bias, ill will, or hatred toward the victim’s actual or perceived race, color, ethnicity, country of national origin, religion, or sexual orientation. Many states impose extra penalties if a crime is committed due to such motivation. Also called bias crime. See also freedom of speech.
high crime
A crime whose commission offends the public’s morality.
inchoate crime
One of the three crimes (attempt, conspiracy, solicitation) that are steps toward the commission of another crime. Also called anticipatory crime, anticipatory offense, and inchoate offense.
infamous crime
  1. Under common law, any one of the crimes that were considered particularly dishonorable and the punishment for which included ineligibility to hold public office, to serve on a jury, or to testify at a civil or criminal trial. These crimes included treason, any felony, forgery, and perjury, among other offenses.
  2. Any crime punishable by death or by imprisonment of more than one year. See also punishment.
status crime
A crime that is defined by a person’s condition or character rather than by any wrongful act that they have done. For example, the “crime” of being an alcoholic as opposed to being intoxicated in public or drinking alcohol while driving a vehicle. The United States Supreme Court has held that to impose a sanction for such crimes violates the ban found in the Eighth Amendment to the United States Constitution against cruel and unusual punishment. See also vagrancy.
statutory crime
  1. An offense that was not a crime under the common law, but has been made a crime by a statute.
  2. Broadly, any crime that is defined by a statute. See also common-law crime.
victimless crime
A crime, such as drug use, gambling, and a crime against nature, that directly harms no person or property except that of the consenting participants.
violent crime
Any crime that has as an element the use, attempted use, or threatened use of physical force against the person or property of another or any felony that entails a substantial risk that physical force will be used against the person or property of another. Also called a crime of violence.
white-collar crime
Any business or financial non-violent crime, such as bribery, consumer fraud, corruption, embezzlement, and stock manipulation, committed by business executives, professionals, and public officials.

crime Usage Examples

Converse of object

  • commit: Can you say what causes people to commit crimes?
  • tackle: Our continual focus on tackling this crime has resulted in a significant drop in home burglaries - year on year.
  • organize: At the heart of the dispute is Europol, Europe's new police agency, set up to coordinate measures against organized crime.
  • reduce: This did reduce crime over the period of the Initiative.
  • combat: A total of £ 115,000 has been set aside for initiatives to combat local crime.
  • hate: November 02, 2004 @ 10:15 PM Issues: Hate crimes | Organizations: OutRage!

Preposition: against

humanity: The mistake would be to respond to one-off crimes against humanity by destroying that which made the US distinct in the first place.

Adjective modifier

  • violent: Police say reports of nuisance are up; violent crime is on the increase; hard drugs are rife.
  • recorded: See ' Long-term trends - National recorded crime ' for charts showing long-term trends in recorded crime.
  • serious: What was required was another form of punishment for serious crimes.
  • drug-related: These are daunting statistics, yet they point to one potential solution to drug-related crime.
  • homophobic: The Constabulary has sent out questionnaires to every victim of racist and homophobic crime.
  • alcohol-related: They have a right to public services that combat alcohol-related crime, disorder, and anti-social behavior.

Modifies a noun

  • prevention: Your first call should be to your crime prevention officer at your local police station.
  • reduction: Crime reduction is not just the job of the police.

Noun used with modifier

  • hate: The Open Out Scheme [ Local ] Reporting hate crime.
  • gun: These include groups dealing with transport crime, anti-social behavior and gun crime.
  • knife: Eugene McAteer, Manchester Prisons don't prevent crime Does anyone seriously believe that increasing sentences will solve the problem of knife crime?
  • youth: There is an urgent need for a review of the legislation and an honest debate about the realities of youth crime.