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

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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

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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

The Rams, the NFL’s top offense in yards per game, generated only 24 yards in 15 plays during their first five possessions and were zero for five on third down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Despite that success, NFL evaluators questioned his size, his peripatetic college career, and his ability to make his style work in a professional offense.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2026

Cooked by an offense nowhere to be found in the fourth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

The Crown didn’t take offense; Queen Elizabeth II conferred Stewart’s knighthood in 2010.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

“No offense, Dadi, but I think I know everything about what a career in films entails. I don’t need to watch some documentary made for laypeople. Okay?”

From "From Twinkle, with Love" by Sandhya Menon

Nashiri was charged in April 2011 with offenses including murder in violation of the law of war and terrorism, but his case has been mired in pre-trial proceedings for years.

From Barron's ● Nov. 2, 2026

Gouverneur Morris specified “corruption” as one of the “few” offenses for which he would favor impeachment.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

Earlier this year, the White House created a task force to eliminate fraud and the Department of Justice created a fraud enforcement division, in part, to target immigration-related offenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 23, 2026

Since then, there have been 6,409 arrests for criminal offenses related to US military personnel, according to Okinawa Prefectural Government.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

Even if the analysis is limited to felonies—thus excluding extremely minor crimes and misdemeanors—nonviolent offenses predominate.

From "The New Jim Crow" by Michelle Alexander

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Related Words

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

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