offense

American  

[uh-fens, aw-fens, of-ens] / əˈfɛns, ˈɔ fɛns, ˈɒf ɛns /

British, offence

noun

• offenses
  plural

1. a violation or breaking of a social or moral rule; transgression; sin.

   Synonyms:

   fault, felony, trespass

2. a transgression of the law; misdemeanor.

   Synonyms:

   fault, felony, trespass

3. a cause of transgression or wrong.

4. something that offends or displeases.

5. the act of offending or displeasing.

6. the feeling of resentful displeasure caused.

   to give offense.

   Synonyms:

   wrath, resentment, umbrage, indignation

   Antonyms:

   pleasure

7. the act of attacking; attack or assault.

   weapons of offense.

   Synonyms:

   aggression

   Antonyms:

   defense

8. a person, army, etc., that is attacking.

   Synonyms:

   foe, enemy

9. Sports.

   1. the players or team unit responsible for attacking or scoring in a game.

   2. the players possessing or controlling the ball, puck, etc., or the aspects or period of a game when this obtains.

   3. a pattern or style of scoring attack.

      single-wing offense; fast-break offense.

   4. offensive effectiveness; ability to score.

      a total breakdown in offense.

10. Archaic. injury, harm, or hurt.

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offense Idioms  

1. see no offense; take offense.

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Synonym Usage

See crime.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-offense
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• offenses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of offense

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English offence, offense; in part from Middle French offens, from Latin offēnsus “collision, knock,” equivalent to offend(ere) ( see offend) + -tus suffix of verb action; in part from Middle French offense, ultimately from Latin offēnsa, feminine past participle of offendere

Explanation

The part of a team that tries to score points is called the offense. If you play forward on a soccer team, you are on offense. If you offend someone — that is you cause them to be upset because of your actions or words — then you may need to apologize for the offense. After all, you meant no offense when you said that disco was dead. How were you to know the guy still loved the '70s? In the eyes of the law, an offense is a crime.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

offense offenses

Under US civil and criminal law, unauthorized access to a computer system is an offense.

From Barron's ● Aug. 2, 2026

Prosecutors initially alleged he intentionally damaged the newly renovated surface, a felony offense carrying a potential prison sentence.

From Salon ● Aug. 1, 2026

To be sure, Ukraine has also warned people, since the first months of the invasion, that filming the damage caused by Russian attacks could be a criminal offense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 31, 2026

Chesney is counting on Iamaleava to make things move smoothly for UCLA’s offense this season.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 30, 2026

Numerous states now have some type of mandatory sentencing for this offense—typically two days in jail for a first offense and two to ten days for a second offense.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

While he wore the headset in Oxford, Kiffin built one of the SEC’s most devastating offenses, piling up 37.3 points per game and transforming an unknown backup quarterback into a Heisman trophy candidate.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026

The appeals to the emergency docket have long outnumbered those to the merits docket, but most are procedural requests or requests to stay execution for capital offenses.

From Salon ● Jul. 3, 2026

Although Soria agreed to one bill amendment, she did not accept other provisions, including the elimination of lifetime bans on Tier 1 or 2 offenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

There were also concerns listed in the analysis that the registry, which dates back to 1947, could include LGBTQ+ offenders from decades ago who were convicted of offenses that are no longer crimes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Yet despite the horrid weather, the squat sameness of the buildings, and the severity of the youths’ offenses, Chad doesn’t feel like a terrible place.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater

Related Words

• breach
• crime
• infraction
• misdeed
• misdemeanor
• sin
• transgression
• wrongdoing