offense

American  

[uh-fens, aw-fens, of-ens] / əˈfɛns, ˈɔ fɛns, ˈɒf ɛns /

British, offence

noun

• offenses
  plural

1. a violation or breaking of a social or moral rule; transgression; sin.

   Synonyms:

   fault, felony, trespass

2. a transgression of the law; misdemeanor.

   Synonyms:

   fault, felony, trespass

3. a cause of transgression or wrong.

4. something that offends or displeases.

5. the act of offending or displeasing.

6. the feeling of resentful displeasure caused.

   to give offense.

   Synonyms:

   wrath, resentment, umbrage, indignation

   Antonyms:

   pleasure

7. the act of attacking; attack or assault.

   weapons of offense.

   Synonyms:

   aggression

   Antonyms:

   defense

8. a person, army, etc., that is attacking.

   Synonyms:

   foe, enemy

9. Sports.

   1. the players or team unit responsible for attacking or scoring in a game.

   2. the players possessing or controlling the ball, puck, etc., or the aspects or period of a game when this obtains.

   3. a pattern or style of scoring attack.

      single-wing offense; fast-break offense.

   4. offensive effectiveness; ability to score.

      a total breakdown in offense.

10. Archaic. injury, harm, or hurt.

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offense Idioms  

1. see no offense; take offense.

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Synonym Usage

See crime.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• self-offense
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• offenses
  plural

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Etymology

Origin of offense

First recorded in 1325–75; Middle English offence, offense; in part from Middle French offens, from Latin offēnsus “collision, knock,” equivalent to offend(ere) ( see offend) + -tus suffix of verb action; in part from Middle French offense, ultimately from Latin offēnsa, feminine past participle of offendere

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Explanation

The part of a team that tries to score points is called the offense. If you play forward on a soccer team, you are on offense. If you offend someone — that is you cause them to be upset because of your actions or words — then you may need to apologize for the offense. After all, you meant no offense when you said that disco was dead. How were you to know the guy still loved the '70s? In the eyes of the law, an offense is a crime.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

offense offenses

The Rams, the NFL’s top offense in yards per game, generated only 24 yards in 15 plays during their first five possessions and were zero for five on third down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Nov. 2, 2026

Cooked by an offense nowhere to be found in the fourth.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 31, 2026

All of which has helped compensate for a struggling offense, with the Vikings’ 20.8 points per game in the bottom half of the NFL.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 30, 2026

The Crown didn’t take offense; Queen Elizabeth II conferred Stewart’s knighthood in 2010.

From Salon ● Oct. 30, 2026

The next time down on offense, when they leave me wide open, Coach yells, “Shoot!”

From "Boy21" by Matthew Quick

Gouverneur Morris specified “corruption” as one of the “few” offenses for which he would favor impeachment.

From Slate ● Oct. 30, 2026

British prosecutors charged Nouman Essghir and Mohmed Ahmad Abdulkarim with national security offenses linked to a suspected Iranian plot.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2026

“I think historically speaking, the vast majority of people who commit these kind of offenses and who follow through on mass shooting incidents are generally male,” he said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 22, 2026

Since then, there have been 6,409 arrests for criminal offenses related to US military personnel, according to Okinawa Prefectural Government.

From BBC ● Oct. 5, 2026

For any one of these offenses, a child might be kept after school for a week; for all three, he might be sent to reform school until his beard grew down to his knees.

From "Cheaper by the Dozen" by Frank B. Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey

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Related Words

• breach
• crime
• infraction
• misdeed
• misdemeanor
• sin
• transgression
• wrongdoing

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