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 survey found 45% of adults experienced a hate crime on a street or sidewalk and 34% of adults experienced a hate crime in a store, theater, gas station or other business. —Ishani Desai, Sacbee.com, 12 May 2025

His family suffered other tragedies, such as his father’s shooting death from a hate crime and the drowning deaths of two of his half brothers. —Whitney Friedlander, Los Angeles Times, 7 May 2025

Anti-Asian hate crimes saw an unsettling uptick during and following the COVID-19 global pandemic. —Jennifer Chan, StyleCaster, 30 Apr. 2025

Three Aston Villa supporters were arrested in April in connection with hate crime offences following their Champions League game against PSG on April 15. —Jordan Campbell, New York Times, 2 May 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