war crime

noun

: a crime (such as genocide or maltreatment of prisoners) committed during or in connection with war

—usually used in plural

war criminal noun

Examples of war crime in a Sentence

He was found guilty of torture and other war crimes.

Recent Examples on the Web

If children were deliberately targeted, that is absolutely monstrous and indisputably a war crime. —Isaac Chotiner, The New Yorker, 14 Oct. 2024

Capturing soldiers is not technically a war crime, though mistreating them is, and experts in the rules around warfare agree that no grievance can justify holding anyone hostage, whether from civilian or military life. —Kim Hjelmgaard, USA TODAY, 5 Oct. 2024

Lebanon’s government has accused Israel of war crimes for using such powerful weapons in a densely populated suburb of Beirut. —NBC News, 30 Sep. 2024

Alongside its allied Arab militias, the RSF have been accused of deliberate attacks on civilians amounting to crimes against humanity and war crimes. —Kholood Khair, TIME, 4 Sep. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1906, in the meaning defined above

Legal Definition

war crime

noun

: an act committed usually during an international war for which individual criminal liability will be imposed by a domestic or international tribunal

specifically : a violation of the laws or customs of war as embodied or recognized by international treaty, court decisions, or established practice

—usually used in pl.

Note: Following World War II, the Charter of the International Military Tribunal at Nuremberg first codified war crimes including crimes against humanity. Also encompassed in the legal concept of war crimes is the crime of planning or waging a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties.