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

The family's attorney is calling for a hate crime investigation, while the sheriff's office says its investigation found the attack was not racially motivated. —Drake Bentley, jsonline.com, 3 Sep. 2025

Over the objection of prosecutors, Orange County Superior Court Judge Roger B Robbins in 2019 sentenced Mayfield to five years in prison after Mayfield pleaded guilty to making criminal threats, violating someone’s civil liberties and carrying out a hate crime. —Sean Emery, Oc Register, 29 Aug. 2025

The Marin County District Attorney’s Office also added hate crime allegations to her charges. —Cameron MacDonald, Mercury News, 29 Aug. 2025

The Annunciation Catholic School shooting will be investigated as an act of domestic terrorism and a hate crime targeting Catholics, FBI Director Kash Patel said. —Marc Santia, NBC news, 28 Aug. 2025

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