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

Smollett was accused of staging a hate crime — which was originally reported as a racist and homophobic crime against the Empire actor— in Chicago in February 2019. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 1 July 2026

According to hate crime expert Brian Levin, prejudice rarely escalates overnight. — Maia Niguel Hoskin, Forbes.com, 30 June 2026

He was then charged with filing a false police report as the Cook County State Attorney’s Office claimed that the hate crime did not happen. — Jason P. Frank, Vulture, 30 June 2026

And Egypt’s Mohamed Salah’s tenure as a Liverpool player coincided with significant decreases in anti-Muslim hate crimes across the city. — Jeremy Ebobisse, Time, 26 June 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