crime

Universal Words noun 1 [U] 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 2 [C] ~ (against sb) an illegal act or activity that can be punished by law: to commit a crime (= do sth illegal) * The massacre was a crime against humanity. * In his mind he was about to commit the perfect crime. seealsoWARCRIME 3 (a crime) [sing.] an act that you think is immoral or is a big mistake: It's a crime to waste so much money.