Crime Kraɪm Increase Violent Fight Organized Noun Bre

• an increase in violent crime
• the fight against crime
• stores spend more and more on crime prevention every year.
• petty/serious crime

crime

1. activities that involve breaking the law
• an increase in violent crime
• the fight against crime
• Stores spend more and more on crime prevention every year.
• petty/serious crime
• the connection between drugs and organized crime
• He turned to crime when he dropped out of school.
• The crime rate is rising.
• crime fiction/novels (= stories about crime)
• crime figures/statistics
• She’s a crime writer(= she writes stories about crime).
2. an illegal act or activity that can be punished by law
• to commit a crime (= do something illegal)
• The massacre was a crime against humanity.
• In his mind he was about to commit the perfect crime.
3. an act that you think is immoral or is a big mistake
• See related entries: Immoral
  https://www.oxfordlearnersdictionaries.com/topic/immoral/crime_2
• It's a crime to waste so much money.

Extra Examples

• Corporate crime—committed by businesses—should not be confused with white-collar crime, which refers to the occupation of the perpetrator and may be directed against a business.
• Fear of crime imprisons many elderly people in their homes.
• Gun crime is just part of an increasingly lawless society.
• Hate crimes are not punished severely enough in my opinion.
• He boasted of having carried out the perfect crime.
• He confessed his crime to his sister.
• He says that bored youngsters turn to crime.
• He was charged with the lesser crime of possessing a forged bond, rather than actually forging it.
• He was charged with the lesser crime of possession.
• How can we reduce knife crime in our cities?
• Identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the country.
• Insider dealing has been called a victimless crime.
• Many crimes are never reported to the police.
• No weapon was found at the scene of the crime.
• Not returning phone calls is a grave crime in today’s culture.
• Police forces will exchange ideas on cracking crime.
• She claimed that the real crime is that burglars and muggers usually get a light sentence.
• She never faced trial for her many alleged crimes.
• The computers were sent to a crime lab for analysis.
• The crime occurred in broad daylight.
• The public have a crucial role to play in detecting crime.
• The punishment should fit the crime.
• Unemployed young people were likely to be tempted into a life of crime.
• Victims of crime may be able to obtain compensation.
• a crackdown on drug-related crime
• a hate crime against a young gay man
• a man who solves crimes using old-fashioned detective work
• a new short story by the popular crime writer
• a senior detective with the serious crime squad
• a system of justice to prosecute crimes of terrorism
• a time of great poverty and rampant crime
• an apparently motiveless crime
• attempts to prevent hacking and computer crime
• crimes against humanity
• crimes involving firearms
• crimes punishable by death
• leading members of an organized crime syndicate
• one of New York’s biggest crime lords
• one of the most horrific crimes of recent times
• one of the most notorious crimes in British history
• the biggest crime since the Great Train Robbery
• the country’s crime problem
• the danger of copycat crimes in the wake of the shootings
• the latest TV crime series
• the newspaper’s crime reporter
• It’s a crime to waste so much money.
• More needs to be done to help the victims of crime.
• She had never committed a crime in her life.
• She writes crime novels.
• The massacre was a crime against humanity.
• There is a strong link between drugs and organized crime.
• There needs to be a partnership between police and public in the fight against crime.
• These youngsters are often involved in petty crime such as shoplifting and casual theft.
• This month’s figures show an increase in violent crime.

Word Origin

• Middle English (in the sense ‘wickedness, sin’): via Old French from Latin crimen ‘judgement, offence’, based on cernere ‘to judge’.