Crime Collocations
crime S2 W2 / kraɪm / noun
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 )
COLLOCATIONS
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 )
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 )
COLLOCATIONS
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 )