Did you know?
Criminology includes the study of all aspects of crime and law enforcement—criminal psychology, the social setting of crime, prohibition and prevention, investigation and detection, capture and punishment. Thus, many of the people involved—legislators, social workers, probation officers, judges, etc.—could possibly be considered criminologists, though the word usually refers only to scholars and researchers.
Examples of criminology in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
While a decade ago the majority of knife crime perpetrated by young people was related to gangs, this is no longer the case, James Alexander, an associate enterprise fellow in criminology at London Metropolitan University, told CNN.
—
Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
Sixty leading experts from a range of fields, including medicine, public health, criminology, law and the technology sector, convened earlier this year to create an action plan to address the problem.
—NPR, 3 Nov. 2025
Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks after the murders.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025
The investigation eventually uncovers chilling clues that lead to Bryan Kohberger (Merry), a seemingly quiet criminology PhD student, as the only suspect.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for criminology
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Catherine Nicholls, CNN Money, 4 Nov. 2025
Sixty leading experts from a range of fields, including medicine, public health, criminology, law and the technology sector, convened earlier this year to create an action plan to address the problem.
—NPR, 3 Nov. 2025
Kohberger, a graduate student in criminology at nearby Washington State University, was arrested in Pennsylvania, where his parents lived, roughly six weeks after the murders.
—Lauryn Overhultz, FOXNews.com, 16 Oct. 2025
The investigation eventually uncovers chilling clues that lead to Bryan Kohberger (Merry), a seemingly quiet criminology PhD student, as the only suspect.
—Rosy Cordero, Deadline, 13 Oct. 2025
See All Example Sentences for criminology
Cite this Entry
“Criminology.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/criminology. Accessed 10 Nov. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
criminology
noun
crim·i·nol·o·gy
ˌkrim-ə-ˈnäl-ə-jē 
: a scientific study of crime, of criminals, and of their punishment or correction
Medical Definition
Legal Definition
criminology
noun
crim·i·nol·o·gy
ˌkri-mə-ˈnä-lə-jē
: the scientific study of crime as a social phenomenon, of criminals, and of penal treatment
criminologically
adverb
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share