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
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.
In England, a 61-year-old first offender convicted of embezzlement would almost certainly go to an open prison - but that option does not exist in Scotland.
From BBC • Jun. 2, 2026
In July 2016, best-selling author and wellness guru Deepak Chopra contacted Jeffrey Epstein, the wealthy financier and convicted sex offender, to thank him for his hospitality.
From Salon • May 19, 2026
Massie has been one of the loudest House voices prodding the Trump administration to release more information on the sex offender and his accomplices.
From Slate • May 19, 2026
Mr. Massie has also irritated the president by raising his ties to Jeffrey Epstein, the convicted sex offender who committed suicide in 2019 while in jail awaiting trial on charges of sex trafficking.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 18, 2026
Fifty years ago, the prevailing concept in the American criminal justice system was that everyone in the community is the victim when an offender commits a violent crime.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
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.
