offence
[noun]
Synonyms:
- crime, fault, misdeed, misdemeanour, sin, transgression, trespass, wrongdoing
- snub, affront, hurt, indignity, injustice, insult, outrage, slight
- annoyance, anger, displeasure, indignation, pique, resentment, umbrage, wrath

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English Thesaurus: crime, offence, misdemeanor, felony, robbery, ...

[TahlilGaran] English Synonym Dictionary ▲

of‧fence S3 W2 British English, offense American English /əˈfens/ noun
[Word Family: noun: OFFENSE/OFFENSE, offender, offensive, offensiveness; adjective: offensive ≠ inoffensive, offended, offending; verb: offend; adverb: offensively]

1. [countable] an illegal action or a crime:
His solicitor said he committed the offence because he was heavily in debt.
offence against
sexual offences against children

2. [uncountable] when you offend or upset someone by something you do or say
cause/give offence
The problem was how to say ‘no’ to her without causing offence.
Don’t be upset by what he said; he meant no offence (=did not intend to offend anyone).

3. no offence spoken used to tell someone that you hope that what you are going to say or do will not offend them:
No offense, but this cheese tastes like rubber.

4. take offence (at something) to feel offended because of something someone says or does:
I think he took offence at my lack of enthusiasm.

5. [uncountable] formal the act of attacking:
the weapon of offence used during the attack

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Contemporary English ▲

offence
noun
I. illegal act
ADJ. grave, heinous, major, serious | lesser, minor, petty, trivial | alleged | statutory | arrestable, bookable, imprisonable, indictable, punishable, sackable The offence is punishable by up to three months' imprisonment.
criminal, disciplinary | driving, political, sexual, terrorist Motorists may be fined on the spot for driving offences such as speeding.
violent | drug-related
PREP. ~ against offences against public decency
 ⇒ Note at CRIME (for verbs)

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

offence
II. hurt feelings
VERB + OFFENCE cause, give | take
PREP. ~ at He takes offence at the slightest joke against him.
~ to I didn't mean to give offence to anyone.
PHRASES no offence (intended/meant) No offence intended, but are you sure your calculations are right?

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

offence

commit an offence (=do something that is against the law)
He had committed the offence of dangerous driving.
charge somebody with an offence
In that year, 367 people were charged with terrorist offences.
convict somebody of an offence (=say officially that they are guilty)
The number of women convicted of serious offences is fairly small.
admit an offence
He had admitted sex offences against children.
it is an offence to do something
It is an offence to carry a weapon in a public place.
an offence punishable by/with something
Possession of the drug is an offence punishable by up to one year’s imprisonment.
make something an offence/make it an offence to do something
The Act made it an offence to sell cigarettes to children under 16.
a criminal offence
It is a criminal offence to sell alcohol to someone under the age of 18.
a serious offence
serious offences such as murder or armed robbery
a minor offence
The police cautioned him for a minor offence.
a first offence
Because it was a first offence, she was not sent to prison.
a lesser offence (=one that is not as serious as another offence)
For rioting you can receive ten years in prison, while for the lesser offence of violent disorder you can receive five years in prison.
a federal offense American English (=a very serious offence against the law of the US, rather than against a state’s law)
The turtles are rare, and it is a federal offense to take them to another state.
a driving/parking/traffic offence
Speeding is the most common traffic offence.
a sex/drug/terrorist etc offence
Thirty-three people were charged with drug offences.
a punishable offence (=one that you can be punished for)
Lying in court is a punishable offense.
a capital offence (=one for which death is the punishment)
Drug smuggling was made a capital offense in 1987.
an arrestable/indictable offence (=one that you can be arrested for or must go to court for)
Indictable offences are tried by a jury in a Crown Court.

[TahlilGaran] Collocations Dictionary ▲

offence
noun
BAD: Public caning would deter other students from doing the offence.
GOOD: Public caning would deter other students from committing the offence.

Usage Note:
commit an offence (NOT do ): 'He is accused of committing various minor offences.'

[TahlilGaran] Dictionary of Common Errors ▲

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.
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.
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.
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.

[TahlilGaran] English Thesaurus ▲