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

Chicago police are conducting a hate crime investigation after someone wrote a racist threat on the window of a Hyde Park theater run by Black women. —Todd Feurer, CBS News, 24 Mar. 2026

The show discusses intimidation, violence and hate crimes against Muslims after 9/11 and against Asians after the COVID-19 outbreak, for instance. —Stuart Miller, Los Angeles Times, 24 Mar. 2026

Four ambulances at a Jewish community rescue service in London were set ablaze on Monday morning in what local law enforcement authorities are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. —Washington Examiner Staff, The Washington Examiner, 23 Mar. 2026

Read All About It Multiple Jewish volunteer ambulances were set on fire in London in what police are investigating as an antisemitic hate crime. —Kayla Hayempour, NBC news, 23 Mar. 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