crime S2 W2 /kraɪm/ BrE AmE noun
[ Word Family: noun : ↑ crime , ↑ criminal , ↑ criminologist , ↑ criminology ; verb : ↑ incriminate , ↑ criminalize ≠ ↑ decriminalize ; adjective : ↑ criminal , ↑ incriminating ; adverb : ↑ criminally ]
[ Date: 1200-1300 ; Language: Latin ; Origin: crimen 'judgment, accusation, crime' ]
1 . [uncountable] illegal activities in general:
We moved here because there was very little crime.
Police officers are being given new powers to help combat crime.
a police crackdown on car crime
a town with a relatively low crime rate
2 . [countable] an illegal action, which can be punished by law:
He insisted that he had not committed any crime.
men who have been found guilty of violent crimes
crime against
Crimes against the elderly are becoming more common.
Police are still busy hunting for clues at the scene of the crime (=where the crime happened) .
3 . a life of crime when someone spends their life stealing and committing crimes, in order to get money to live
4 . the perfect crime a crime that no one knows has been committed, so no one can be punished for it
5 . crime of passion a crime, especially murder, caused by sexual jealousy
6 . crime against humanity a crime of cruelty against large numbers of people, especially in a war
7 . crime doesn’t pay used to say that crime does not give you any advantage, because you will be caught and punished – used when warning people not to get involved in crime
8 . [singular] something that someone is blamed or criticized for doing – use this when you think someone is treated very unfairly ⇨ sin :
My only crime is that I fell in love with another girl.
Johnson’s biggest crime was that he told the truth.
9 . it’s a crime spoken said when you think something is very wrong, and someone should not do it:
It would be a crime to waste all that good food.
⇨ partners in crime at ↑ partner 1 (5), ⇨ ↑ white-collar (2)
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COLLOCATIONS (for Meanings 1 & 2)
■ verbs
▪ commit (a) crime
Most crime is committed by young men.
▪ carry out a crime
The boy admitted that he’d carried out the crime.
▪ fight/combat/tackle crime
There are a number of ways in which the public can help the police to fight crime.
▪ beat crime
new measures to beat car crime
▪ turn to crime (=start committing crimes)
Youngsters who are bored sometimes turn to crime.
▪ solve a crime
It took ten years for the police to solve the crime.
▪ report a crime
I immediately telephoned the police to report the crime.
■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + crime
▪ (a) serious crime
Kidnapping is a very serious crime.
▪ (a) violent crime
Figures show a 19% rise in violent crime.
▪ a terrible/horrific crime ( also a dreadful crime British English )
What made him commit such a terrible crime?
▪ petty crime (=crime that is not very serious)
Immigrants were blamed for the increase in petty crime.
▪ juvenile/youth crime (=committed by children and teenagers)
Police blame gangs for a third of all juvenile crime in the city.
▪ an alleged crime (=not proved to have happened)
No evidence of the alleged crime was presented.
▪ organized crime (=committed by large organizations of criminals)
the growing threats of terrorism and organized crime
▪ car crime British English (=stealing cars)
the battle against car crime
▪ street crime (=crimes such as robbery committed on the streets)
There will be new measures to tackle street crime.
▪ corporate crime (=involving businesses)
Those responsible for corporate crime often escape punishment.
▪ property crime (=stealing from or damaging property)
theft and other property crime
▪ computer crime (=committed using computers)
It is usually companies that are the victims of computer crime.
▪ war crimes (=serious crimes committed during a war)
▪ a sex crime (=in which someone is sexually attacked)
▪ a hate crime (=committed against someone because of their race, religion etc)
▪ a capital crime American English (=a crime such as murder, for which the criminal can be killed)
■ phrases
▪ a victim of crime
Victims of crime do not always report the offence.
▪ a crackdown on crime (=strong action to fight crime)
The government has promised a crackdown on crime.
▪ the scene of the crime ( also the crime scene ) (=the place where a crime has happened)
Detectives were already at the scene of the crime.
▪ be tough on crime (=punish crime severely )
Politicians want to appear tough on crime.
▪ be soft on crime (=not punish crime severely enough)
He accused the government of being soft on crime.
■ crime + NOUN
▪ a crime wave (=a sudden increase in crime in an area)
Larger cities have been the worst hit by the crime wave.
▪ a crime spree (=when one person commits a lot of crimes in a short time)
He was arrested after a two-day crime spree.
▪ crime prevention
The police can give you advice on crime prevention.
▪ the crime rate
The crime rate has gone up.
▪ crime figures/statistics
The new crime figures are not good.
▪ a crime syndicate American English (=an organization of criminals)
Women found themselves trapped by crime syndicates into prostitution.
▪ a crime writer (=someone who writes stories about crimes, especially murder)
■ COMMON ERRORS
► Do not say ' do a crime '. Say commit a crime or carry out a crime .
• • •
THESAURUS
■ illegal actions
▪ crime noun [uncountable and countable] an illegal action or activity, or these actions in general:
The police need the public’s help to solve crimes.
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Crime is on the increase.
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It was a horrific crime.
▪ offence British English , offense American English noun [countable] a crime, especially one that has a particular description and name in law:
It is an offence to drive while using a mobile phone.
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a minor offence (=one that is not serious)
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a serious offence
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a parking offence
▪ misdemeanor noun [countable] American English law a crime that is not very serious:
They pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and were fined.
▪ felony noun [uncountable and countable] especially American English law a serious crime:
Fewer than 25 percent of the people arrested on felony charges are convicted.
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He committed a series of violent felonies.
■ crimes of stealing
▪ robbery noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of stealing from a bank, shop etc:
£100,000 was stolen in the robbery.
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The gang carried out a string of daring robberies.
▪ burglary noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of breaking into someone’s home in order to steal things:
There have been several burglaries in our area.
▪ theft noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of stealing something:
Car theft is a big problem.
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thefts of credit cards
▪ shoplifting noun [uncountable] the crime of taking things from shops without paying for them:
They get money for drugs from shoplifting.
▪ fraud noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of getting money from people by tricking them:
He’s been charged with tax fraud.
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credit card fraud
▪ larceny noun [uncountable] especially American English law the crime of stealing something:
He was found guilty of larceny.
▪ phishing noun [uncountable] the activity of tricking people into giving their personal details, bank numbers etc on the Internet, in order to steal money from them:
One in four computer users reports that they have been hit by phishing attempts.
■ violent crimes
▪ assault noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of physically attacking someone:
He was arrested for an assault on a policeman.
▪ mugging noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of attacking and robbing someone in a public place:
Muggings usually happen at night.
▪ murder noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of deliberately killing someone:
He is accused of the murder of five women.
▪ homicide noun [uncountable and countable] especially American English law murder:
Homicide rates are rising fastest amongst 15 to19-year-olds.
▪ rape noun [uncountable and countable] the crime of forcing someone to have sex:
In most cases of rape, the victim knows her attacker.
■ crimes against property
▪ arson noun [uncountable] the crime of deliberately setting fire to a building:
The school was completely destroyed in an arson attack.
▪ vandalism noun [uncountable] the crime of deliberately damaging things, especially public property:
He often got into fights and committed acts of vandalism.