hate crime

noun

: any of various crimes (such as assault or defacement of property) when motivated by hostility to the victim as a member of a group (such as one based on color, creed, gender, or sexual orientation)

Examples of hate crime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Additionally, hate crimes against trans people rose by 32.9 percent, according to the FBI's Hate Crime Statistics for 2022 released in 2023, with 469 incidents motivated by gender identity bias reported. —Matt Robison, Newsweek, 21 Nov. 2024

Jussie Smollett’s conviction for lying to the police about a hate crime he was accused of staging against himself was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court. —Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 21 Nov. 2024

Aldrich pleaded guilty to state and federal murder and hate crime charges and was sentenced to multiple counts of life in prison. —John Frank, Axios, 19 Nov. 2024

The suspect was booked into the Snohomish County Jail for hate crime and assault. —Sarah Rumpf-Whitten, Fox News, 8 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

hate crime

noun

plural hate crimes

: any of various crimes (as assault) when motivated by hostility to the victim based on social characteristics (as color, creed, gender, sexual orientation, or national origin)

Legal Definition

hate crime

noun

: a crime that violates the victim's civil rights and that is motivated by hostility to the victim's race, religion, creed, national origin, sexual orientation, or gender