Subscriber login


Forgot your password?

Library card login

Other

crime

Syllabification: (crime)
Pronunciation: /krīm/

Translate crime | into French | into German | into Italian | into Spanish
Definition of crime

noun

  • an action or omission that constitutes an offense that may be prosecuted by the state and is punishable by law:shoplifting was a serious crime
  • illegal activities:the victims of crime
  • an action or activity that, although not illegal, is considered to be evil, shameful, or wrong:they condemned apartheid as a crime against humanity it’s a crime to keep a creature like Willy in a tank

Origin:

Middle English (in the sense 'wickedness, sin'): via Old French from Latin crimen 'judgment, offense', based on cernere 'to judge'

crime in other Oxford dictionaries

Definition of crime in the British & World English dictionary

Nearby words

  |  Cite

More words in this category

Word of the day

merrythought

/ ˈmerēˌTHôt /
noun
the wishbone of a bird …