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 race, color, religion, national origin, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability)

Examples of hate crime in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

An Iraqi-American woman in the crowd spoke about being a victim of hate crimes and asking what Vollmann thought. — Graham Womack, Sacbee.com, 11 Oct. 2026

And the Homeless Continuum of Care Board would change its call for a representative from the LGBTQ+ community to one that provides services to hate crime victims. — Zoey Thomas, Miami Herald, 7 Oct. 2026

Last month, the mayor announced the first-ever municipal strategy for New York City to combat antisemitism, including tens of millions of dollars in funding for hate crime prevention and Jewish cultural centers. — Katherine Koretski, CNN Money, 7 Oct. 2026

Hate crimes, rape are ticking up While the overall trend lines in crime appear to be going down, there are exceptions - hate crimes and rape. — Jesse Zanger, CBS News, 6 Oct. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for hate crime

• aforetime
• allozyme
• anytime
• christmastime
• cybercrime
• dinnertime
• guggenheim
• isozyme
• lysozyme
• maritime
• mesenchyme
• overtime

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