/ ˈvɪktɪm; NAmE / noun
1.
a person who has been attacked, injured or killed as the result of a crime, a disease, an accident, etc. :
murder / rape, etc. victims
accident / earthquake / famine, etc. victims
AIDS / cancer / stroke, etc. victims
victims of crime
She was the innocent victim of an arson attack.
Schools are the latest victims of cuts in public spending.
2.
a person who has been tricked
SYN target :
They were the victims of a cruel hoax.
—see also fashion victim
3.
an animal or a person that is killed and offered as a sacrifice :
a sacrificial victim
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IDIOMS
- fall victim (to sth)
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WORD ORIGIN
late 15th cent. (denoting a creature killed as a religious sacrifice): from Latin victima .