juvenile delinquency

American  

noun

1. behavior of a child or youth that is so marked by violation of law, persistent mischievousness, antisocial behavior, disobedience, or intractability as to thwart correction by parents and to constitute a matter for action by the juvenile courts.

---

juvenile delinquency British  

noun

1. antisocial or criminal conduct by juvenile delinquents

---

Etymology

Origin of juvenile delinquency

First recorded in 1810–20

Example Sentences

Senate conducted multiple hearings about juvenile delinquency that often blamed TV westerns and crime shows for increased violence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 22, 2026

Ronald Searle is now best known for his creation St Trinian's - a comic strip revolving around the mayhem and juvenile delinquency of a girls' school.

From BBC • Feb. 3, 2024

Instead, the French government points to underprivilege in low-income urban neighbourhoods and juvenile delinquency, a reflection of the state’s belief that citizens are united under a single French identity, regardless of race or ethnicity.

From Reuters • Jul. 4, 2023

Police arrested the boys suspected in both hotel incidents, and prosecutors charged them under the juvenile delinquency code.

From Los Angeles Times • May 28, 2023

It would help the children to cultivate the imagination denied them by television and would appreciably cut down on the incidence of juvenile delinquency.

From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole