hate crime

American  

noun

1. a crime, usually violent, motivated by prejudice or intolerance toward an individual’s national origin, ethnicity, skin color, religion, gender, sexual orientation, or disability.

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hate crime British  

noun

1. a crime, esp of violence, in which the victim is targeted because of his or her race, religion, sexuality, etc

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Example Sentences

Met Police Commissioner Sir Mark Rowley referred to a rise in "racist and antisemitic hate crime" while speaking in Golders Green on Wednesday.

From BBC • Apr. 30, 2026

Flavio Rolim, head of the police's cyber hate crime unit, told AFP that while not everyone consuming this kind of content turns to violence, there was a "process of radicalization," of men.

From Barron's • Apr. 9, 2026

In 2019, he took heat from other Jersey political leaders for quickly condemning a deadly local shooting at a kosher grocery store as a hate crime.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 25, 2026

Authorities have not explained why hate crime charges were not filed, but under California law, prosecutors must prove that bias motivation was a substantial factor in committing the crime.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 17, 2026

The term hate crime was coined in response to what was described at the time as an “epidemic” of neo-Nazi and skinhead violence, although in retrospect it’s unclear whether any such epidemic existed.

From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater