CRIME
What does "CRIME" mean?
An act forbidden by law and punishable by the state.
Meanings
- An unlawful act for which a person can be punished by the state. Theft is a crime in every country on Earth.
- Wrongdoing or illegal activity in general, considered collectively. The mayor promised to bring crime down by half.
- Something deeply regrettable or shameful, though not literally illegal. It's a crime to let a cake that good go stale. figurative
Did you know?
- The word 'crime' began life meaning the accusation, not the act: Latin 'crimen' named the charge brought against you, so the original crime lived in the courtroom, not at the scene.
Word origin
From Latin 'crimen' (charge, accusation, fault), via Old French 'crime'; the original sense was the accusation itself, not the deed.
Remember it
CRIME hides 'I' and 'me' in the middle - because every crime puts an 'I/me' on the wrong side of the law.
A little poem
The law writes down a line and calls it stone;
the crime is only crossing it - once known.
couplet
Wordplay
- Why did the dictionary get arrested? It was caught between 'crime' and 'punishment'.
What it teaches
A crime is a line a society agreed to draw - which means the line can be redrawn, and once was.
Quick facts
What does CRIME mean?
An act forbidden by law and punishable by the state.
Is CRIME a valid word?
Yes — CRIME is one of the answer words in Wordul, the daily word game.
How many letters is CRIME?
CRIME has 5 letters and 1 syllable.
Where does CRIME come from?
From Latin 'crimen' (charge, accusation, fault), via Old French 'crime'; the original sense was the accusation itself, not the deed.
What can CRIME teach us?
A crime is a line a society agreed to draw - which means the line can be redrawn, and once was.
How players do
Be the first to solve it.