offender
Americannoun
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someone who has violated a criminal, religious, or moral law.
The program aids individuals already in the criminal justice system and is geared toward nonviolent offenders.
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a person or thing that irritates, annoys, or angers.
Some of us tried to take matters into our own hands by confronting the noise pollution offenders, but they were entirely unwilling to quiet down.
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something that is disagreeable.
If you’re curious about the odor, I’m afraid you’ll find that the offender is a catbox that has not been emptied recently.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of offender
Explanation
An offender is a criminal, someone who breaks the law. A first-time offender, depending on the crime, might only have to pay a fine or perform community service. Offender is the way prison inmates and lawbreakers are often referred to in news reports or by police officers and prison staff. You might hear terms like "drug offenders," people arrested for crimes involving illegal drugs, or "juvenile offenders," young people who have broken the law. Offender comes from the verb offend, "to sin against" in the fourteenth century, from the Latin offendere, "to hit or strike against."
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.
Thames Valley Police said it arrested a 40-year-old woman from Milton Keynes on Thursday on suspicion of assisting an offender in connection with efforts to locate Sakyi.
From BBC • Jul. 5, 2026
Registered sex offender Rene Campos fell short of the necessary votes in his bid to run for Central Valley Council.
From Los Angeles Times • Jul. 2, 2026
Instead, … the Court asked whether Missouri’s plan to execute the offender was consistent “with the original and historical understanding of the Eighth Amendment.”
From Slate • Jul. 1, 2026
It focused on the late disgraced financier and convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, and who he called the “Epstein class” of elites in both parties.
From Salon • Jun. 27, 2026
“We call this Circle Justice, but we really seek wellness. We try to meet the needs of both the offender and the victim.”
From "Touching Spirit Bear" by Ben Mikaelsen
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.
