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# crime

«crime» in Mova's school dictionary: **against the law and can be punished, such as stealing or…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

### part of speech

noun (a crime, crimes; crime — uncountable)

### meaning for a pupil

1) An action that is against the law and can be punished, such as stealing or hurting someone. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#m1)

2) Such actions in general, in a place. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#m2)

3) (informal) Something that is very wrong or a shame. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#m3)

### sense in the lessons

In citizenship lessons, crime is linked to laws, police, courts and punishment; children learn that taking things, hurting people, or damaging property can be crimes. In stories, detectives solve crimes and find who did them. In safety, if you see a crime, tell a trusted adult or call the emergency number. Phrases: «commit a crime», «solve a crime», «crime scene», «the scene of the crime», «crime rate».

### examples

- Stealing is a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x1)
- The detective solved the crime by finding a footprint. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x2)
- The police are trying to stop crime in our town. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x3)
- Breaking a shop window on purpose is a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x4)
- Sherlock Holmes looked carefully at the scene of the crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x5)
- Crime went down after they put in more street lights. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x6)
- It's a crime to waste all this food! [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x7)
- If you see a crime, tell an adult and stay safe. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x8)
- "Who committed the crime!" said Ivan. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/#x9)

### note

Countable for one act (a crime, crimes); uncountable for crime in general («there is little crime here»). A person who commits a crime is a «criminal». Breaking a school rule is not a crime; breaking a law is. A «sin» is a religious idea, not the same as a crime.

### In the corpora

- [Crime is on the news a lot, but most people live their whole lives without serious crime touching them.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/30-police-courts-and-prison/3/)
- [Being arrested means the police think someone may have committed a crime and will question them; it is not yet proof.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/30-police-courts-and-prison/8/)
- [In November 2019 Prince Andrew stepped back from public duties after a BBC interview about his friendship with a man convicted of serious crimes.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/44-the-royal-family-in-the-news-a-wedding-a-move-to-america-an-interview-and-a-book/22/)
- ["Charged" with a crime is not the same as "guilty"; the court decides, so wait for it.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/adult-life/47-viral-rumours-cancellations-fakes-and-apologies/16/)
- ["The big sleep" means death; it is a humorous, tough-sounding phrase from crime stories.](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/school/euphemisms/3-death-and-feeling-poorly/7/)

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «crime» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/C/crime/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.