crime
[krahym]
- an action or an instance of negligence that is deemed injurious to the public welfare or morals or to the interests of the state and that is legally prohibited.
- criminal activity and those engaged in it: to fight crime.
- the habitual or frequent commission of crimes: a life of crime.
- any offense, serious wrongdoing, or sin.
- a foolish, senseless, or shameful act: It's a crime to let that beautiful garden go to ruin.
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Origin of crime
1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin crīmin- (stem of crīmen) charge, crime
Synonyms
See more synonyms for on Thesaurus.comSynonym study
1, 4. Crime, offense, sin agree in meaning a breaking of law. Crime usually means any serious violation of human laws: the crime of treason or robbery. Offense is used of an infraction of either human or divine law, and does not necessarily mean a serious one: an offense leading to a jail sentence; an offense against morals. Sin means a breaking of moral or divine law: the sins of greed and lust.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
caselawlessnessviolationfelonymisdemeanorinfractioneviltransgressionmisdeedbreachwrongdoingscandalmisconductatrocitycorruptionmalfeasanceabominationtrespassderelictionracketExamples from the Web for crime
Contemporary Examples
Denied parole nine straight times, he insists he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.
The “nature of the crime” was too serious to release him, they said.
He added that Norse has good relations with the FBI and has consulted with them on other crime cases.
FBI Won’t Stop Blaming North Korea for Sony Hack -- Despite New EvidenceShane Harris
December 30, 2014
In Turkey, crime groups in border areas are exploiting the labor of Syrian male refugees who cannot find legitimate employment.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century TerrorismLouise I. Shelley
December 26, 2014
Human trafficking was once a crime associated primarily with a range of small to large crime groups.
ISIS, Boko Haram, and the Growing Role of Human Trafficking in 21st Century TerrorismLouise I. Shelley
December 26, 2014
Historical Examples
The gayety of a light-hearted maiden is often unmixed with boldness, or crime.
PhilotheaLydia Maria Child
He was therefore condemned, and perished on the scaffold for the crime.
It is a crime which, if persisted in, will destroy the Government itself.
There is crime to be conquered, the rough crime of the streets.
To have disregarded it would have been a crime from which his soul shrank.
VivietteWilliam J. Locke
crime
- an act or omission prohibited and punished by law
- unlawful acts in generala wave of crime
- (as modifier)crime wave
- an evil act
- informal something to be regrettedit is a crime that he died young
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Word Origin
C14: from Old French, from Latin crīmen verdict, accusation, crime
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
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Word Origin and History for crime
n.
mid-13c., "sinfulness," from Old French crimne (12c., Modern French crime), from Latin crimen (genitive criminis) "charge, indictment, accusation; crime, fault, offense," perhaps from cernere "to decide, to sift" (see crisis). But Klein (citing Brugmann) rejects this and suggests *cri-men, which originally would have been "cry of distress" (Tucker also suggests a root in "cry" words and refers to English plaint, plaintiff, etc.). Meaning "offense punishable by law" is from late 14c. The Latin word is glossed in Old English by facen, also "deceit, fraud, treachery." Crime wave first attested 1893, American English.
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper