- a variation of offense.
offence
Americannoun
noun
-
a violation or breach of a law, custom, rule, etc
-
-
any public wrong or crime
-
a nonindictable crime punishable on summary conviction
-
-
annoyance, displeasure, or resentment
-
to cause annoyance or displeasure to someone
-
to feel injured, humiliated, or offended
-
a source of annoyance, displeasure, or anger
-
attack; assault
-
archaic injury or harm
-
American football
-
the team that has possession of the ball
-
the members of a team that play in such circumstances
-
Other Word Forms
Compare meaning
How does offence compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
Offence is the British spelling of offense, meaning "a punishable act." If you break a law for the first time, it’s your first offence. The noun offence comes from the Latin word offendere, which means “strike against.” Any time you break a law or a rule it is an offence against that law or rule. Also meaning "rudeness" — or the anger caused by it. In countries like the United States, the preferred spelling is offense, so don't take offense if someone corrects you.
Vocabulary lists containing offence
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
Further protests were held in the city's Springburn area on Friday and Possilpark on Saturday - where a 23-year-old man was arrested for a "disorder offence".
From BBC ● Jul. 12, 2026
It includes data from police forces which they say shows a 13% increase in reports from the year before, and that there have been 24,446 offences prosecuted by the CPS since the offence was introduced.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
He added that lifelong anonymity was given to complainants in sexual offence cases and "great attention must be taken" to make sure this was not undermined or victims were not discouraged from coming forward.
From BBC ● Jul. 2, 2026
But it is not a criminal offence in Taiwan -- a situation lawmakers and experts say needs to change -- with Taiwanese prosecutors relying on other laws to go after offenders.
From Barron's ● Jun. 30, 2026
‘No offence, but, uh . . . what’s an army of Amazons going to do against a wave of dirt?’
From "Blood of Olympus" by Rick Riordan
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
