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victimless crime

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noun
  1. a legal offense, as prostitution or gambling, to which all participating parties have consented.
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Origin of victimless crime

First recorded in 1960–65
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
British Dictionary definitions for victimless crime

victimless crime

noun
  1. a type of crime, such as insurance fraud, regarded by some people as being excusable because the victim is the state or an organization, rather than an individual
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Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
victimless crime in Culture

victimless crime

A term sometimes used for various acts that are considered crimes under the law but apparently have no victim. One such crime is prostitution, which is viewed by some as a commercial exchange between two consenting adults.

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.