1
general::
noun illegal act ADJ. appalling, awful, barbaric, barbarous, bloody, brutal, despicable, dreadful, grave, great, heinous, horrible, horrific, serious, terrible, vicious one of the most horrific crimes of recent times (figurative) Not returning phone calls is a grave crime in today's culture. | big, major the biggest crime since the Great Train Robbery | lesser, minor, petty He was charged with the lesser crime of possessing a forged bond, rather than actually forging it. | real She claimed that the real crime is that burglars and muggers usually get a light sentence. | violent | non-violent | perfect He boasted of having carried out the perfect crime. | notorious one of the most notorious crimes in British history | capital (= for which the penalty is death) After the reforms the only capital crimes were treason and murder. | indictable | 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-related | sex/sexual | war | political | terrorist VERB + CRIME carry out, commit | report Many crimes are never reported to the police. CRIME + VERB involve sth crimes involving firearms | be punishable by sth crimes punishable by death PREP. ~ against crimes against humanity PHRASES a crime of passion/violence, the scene of the crime No weapon was found at the scene of the crime. illegal activity in general ADJ. serious | petty | violent | non-violent | recorded | unrecorded | growing, mounting, rising | drug-related | middle-class, working-class, etc. | white-collar 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. | business, corporate | organized | juvenile, youth | international, local, regional | rural, urban | car, computer, property, street attempts to prevent hacking and computer crime | sex/sexual VERB + CRIME carry out, commit | combat, fight, tackle | beat, crack (informal) Police forces will exchange ideas on cracking crime. | deter, prevent, stop | control, cut, reduce | 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, rise CRIME + NOUN figures, level, rate, statistics | control, prevention | problem, wave the country's crime problem | squad a senior detective with the serious crime squad | syndicate leading members of an organized crime syndicate | fiction, novel, series, story 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.NOTEcrimesbe 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 ~ All three men have denied assault. She admitted 33 assault charges.plead guilty/not guilty to ~ He pleaded guilty to a charge of gross indecency.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/count of ~ The jury convicted her on two counts of theft.
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
4
general::
illegal actions
crime
noun [ uncountable and countable ] an illegal action or activity, or these actions in general:
• The police need the public’s help to solve crimes. • Crime is on the increase. • It was a horrific crime.
offence
British English , offense American English noun [ countable ] a crime, especially one that has a particular description and name in law:
• It is an offence to drive while using a mobile phone. • a minor offence (= one that is not serious ) • a serious offence • a parking offence
misdemeanor
noun [ countable ] American English law a crime that is not very serious:
• They pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor and were fined.
felony
noun [ uncountable and countable ] especially American English law a serious crime:
• Fewer than 25 percent of the people arrested on felony charges are convicted. • He committed a series of violent felonies.
crimes of stealing
robbery
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of stealing from a bank, shop etc:
• £100,000 was stolen in the robbery. • The gang carried out a string of daring robberies.
burglary
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of breaking into someone’s home in order to steal things:
• There have been several burglaries in our area.
theft
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of stealing something:
• Car theft is a big problem. • thefts of credit cards
shoplifting
noun [ uncountable ] the crime of taking things from shops without paying for them:
• They get money for drugs from shoplifting.
fraud
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of getting money from people by tricking them:
• He’s been charged with tax fraud. • credit card fraud
larceny
noun [ uncountable ] especially American English law the crime of stealing something:
• He was found guilty of larceny.
phishing
noun [ uncountable ] the activity of tricking people into giving their personal details, bank numbers etc on the Internet, in order to steal money from them:
• One in four computer users reports that they have been hit by phishing attempts.
violent crimes
assault
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of physically attacking someone:
• He was arrested for an assault on a policeman.
mugging
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of attacking and robbing someone in a public place:
• Muggings usually happen at night.
murder
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of deliberately killing someone:
• He is accused of the murder of five women.
homicide
noun [ uncountable and countable ] especially American English law murder:
• Homicide rates are rising fastest amongst 15 to19-year-olds.
rape
noun [ uncountable and countable ] the crime of forcing someone to have sex:
• In most cases of rape, the victim knows her attacker.
crimes against property
arson
noun [ uncountable ] the crime of deliberately setting fire to a building:
• The school was completely destroyed in an arson attack.
vandalism
noun [ uncountable ] the crime of deliberately damaging things, especially public property:
• He often got into fights and committed acts of vandalism.
Longman-Thesaurus