crime

[krahym]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crime ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

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.

Origin of crime

1200–50; Middle English < Anglo-French, Old French < Latin crīmin- (stem of crīmen) charge, crime

Related formscrime·less, adjectivecrime·less·ness, nounan·ti·crime, adjectivesu·per·crime, noun

Synonyms for crime

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR crime ON THESAURUS.COM

1. wrong; misdemeanor, tort, felony.

Synonym 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. 2019

Related Words for crime

case, lawlessness, violation, felony, misdemeanor, infraction, evil, transgression, misdeed, breach, wrongdoing, scandal, misconduct, atrocity, corruption, malfeasance, abomination, trespass, dereliction, racket

Examples from the Web for crime

Contemporary Examples of crime

Denied parole nine straight times, he insists he is innocent of the crime for which he was convicted.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015
The “nature of the crime” was too serious to release him, they said.
His First Day Out Of Jail After 40 Years: Adjusting To Life Outside
Justin Rohrlich
January 3, 2015
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 Evidence
Shane 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 Terrorism
Louise 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 Terrorism
Louise I. Shelley
December 26, 2014

Historical Examples of crime

The gayety of a light-hearted maiden is often unmixed with boldness, or crime.
Philothea
Lydia Maria Child
He was therefore condemned, and perished on the scaffold for the crime.
Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, No. 327
Various
It is a crime which, if persisted in, will destroy the Government itself.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
There is crime to be conquered, the rough crime of the streets.
United States Presidents' Inaugural Speeches
Various
To have disregarded it would have been a crime from which his soul shrank.
Viviette
William J. Locke

British Dictionary definitions for crime

crime

noun

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

Word Origin for crime

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 Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for crime

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.