- crime
- noun1 illegal actADJECTIVE▪ appalling (esp. BrE), awful, bloody, brutal, despicable, dreadful (esp. BrE), grave, great, heinous, horrible, horrific, serious, terrible, unspeakable, vicious▪
one of the most horrific crimes of recent times
▪ big, major▪the biggest crime since the Great Train Robbery
▪ lesser, minor, petty▪He was charged with the lesser crime of possession.
▪ real▪She claimed that the real crime is that burglars and muggers usually get a light sentence.
▪ non-violent, violent▪ perfect▪He boasted of having carried out the perfect crime.
▪ notorious▪one of the most notorious crimes in history
▪ capital▪After the reforms the only capital crimes were treason and murder.
▪ alleged▪She never faced trial for her many alleged crimes.
▪ unsolved▪ copycat▪the danger of copycat crimes in the wake of the shootings
▪ motiveless▪an apparently motiveless crime
▪ victimless▪Insider dealing has been called a victimless crime.
▪ white-collar▪ drug, drug-related, gun▪ sex, sexual▪ hate▪a hate crime against a young gay man
▪ war▪ political▪ terrorist▪ federal (AmE)VERB + CRIME▪ carry out, commit, do, perpetrate (formal)▪ report▪Many crimes are never reported to the police.
▪ investigate▪ solve▪a man who solves crimes using old-fashioned detective work
▪ prosecute (AmE)▪a system of justice to prosecute crimes of terrorism
▪ punish▪Hate crimes are not punished severely enough in my opinion.
▪ witness▪a child who has just witnessed a violent crime
▪ confess▪He confessed his crime to his sister.
CRIME + VERB▪ involve sth▪crimes involving firearms
▪ happen, occur▪The crime occurred in broad daylight.
▪ be punishable by sth▪crimes punishable by death
CRIME + NOUN▪ scene▪ victim▪ suspectPREPOSITION▪ crime against▪crimes against humanity
PHRASES▪ a crime of passion, a crime of violence▪ the scene of the crime▪No weapon was found at the scene of the crime.
▪ the punishment fits the crime▪The punishment should fit the crime.
2 illegal activity in generalADJECTIVE▪ serious▪ petty▪ non-violent, violent▪ recorded▪ unrecorded▪ growing, mounting, rising▪ rampant▪a time of great poverty and rampant crime
▪ white-collar▪Identity theft is the fastest growing white-collar crime in the country.
▪ corporate▪ organized▪ juvenile, youth▪ international, local▪ rural, urban▪ car, property, street▪ drug, drug-related, gun, knife▪Gun crime is just part of an increasingly lawless society.
▪ computer▪attempts to prevent hacking and computer crime
VERB + CRIME▪ carry out, commit, perpetrate (formal)▪ combat, fight, tackle▪ beat, crack (informal)▪Police forces will exchange ideas on cracking crime.
▪ deter, prevent, stop▪ control, cut, reduce▪How can we reduce knife crime in our cities?
▪ detect, investigate▪The public have a crucial role to play in detecting crime.
▪ solve▪ punish▪ cause▪ be driven to, turn to▪He says that bored youngsters turn to crime.
CRIME + VERB▪ double, increase, riseCRIME + NOUN▪ figures, level, rate, statistics▪ control, prevention▪ problem, wave▪the country's crime problem
▪ spree▪ squad▪a senior detective with the serious crime squad
▪ investigation▪ lab (AmE, informal)▪The computers were sent to a crime lab for analysis.
▪ family (AmE), group, ring, syndicate▪leading members of an organized crime syndicate
▪ boss, lord▪one of New York's biggest crime lords
▪ drama, fiction, film (esp. BrE), movie (esp. AmE), novel, series, show (esp. AmE), story, thriller▪the latest TV crime series
▪ reporter, writer▪the newspaper's crime reporter
▪a new short story by the popular crime writer
PHRASES▪ a crackdown on crime▪a crackdown on drug-related crime
▪ crime and disorder▪ crime and punishment▪ fear of crime▪Fear of crime imprisons many elderly people in their homes.
▪ an increase in crime▪ a life of crime▪Unemployed young people were likely to be tempted into a life of crime.
▪ sb's partner in crime▪ a victim of crime▪Victims of crime may be able to obtain compensation.
◆◆◆NOTE: Crimes▪ be guilty of … , commit …▪Two key witnesses at her trial committed perjury.
▪ accuse sb of … , charge sb with …▪He has been accused of her murder.
▪ convict sb of … , find sb guilty of …▪She was found guilty of high treason.
▪ acquit sb of …▪The engineer responsible for the collapse of the bridge was acquitted of manslaughter.
▪ admit … , confess to … , deny …▪She admitted 33 assault charges.
▪All three men have denied assault.
▪ plead guilty/not guilty to …▪He pleaded guilty to a charge of illegal possession of explosives.
▪ investigate (sb for) …▪She is being investigated for suspected bribery.
▪ be suspected for/of …▪He was the least likely to be suspected of her murder.
▪ be/come under investigation for …▪She was the second minister to come under investigation for corruption.
▪ be wanted for … , be wanted on charges of …▪He was wanted on charges of espionage.
▪ solve a case/crime/murder/robbery/theft▪The police and the public must work together to solve the murder.
▪ arrest sb for …▪Jean was arrested for arson.
▪ be tried for … , stand trial for …▪to stand trial for extortion
▪ … case, … trial▪The nurse's murder trial continues.
▪ … charge▪The police agreed to drop the conspiracy charges against him.
▪ a charge of … , a count of …▪The jury convicted her on two counts of theft.
Collocations dictionary. 2013.
