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

That’s better than the 16% spike in hate crimes across the five boroughs, where there were 522 incidents citywide as opposed to 450 last year. — Colin Mixson, New York Daily News, 3 Nov. 2026

Blasting local officials for failing to protect synagogues and classrooms, Terrell is marching federal prosecutors and the FBI into cities like New York and Detroit to confront rising hate crimes and enforce civil rights protections. — Staff, FOXNews.com, 29 Oct. 2026

Soliman pleaded guilty to nine federal counts of hate crimes, including one resulting in Diamond’s death and eight for attempting to kill other demonstrators. — Thomas Peipert, Los Angeles Times, 29 Oct. 2026

Mohamed Soliman, a 47-year-old Egyptian national, entered his plea on nine federal counts of hate crimes, including one resulting in an elderly woman’s death, and three counts of federal explosives charges. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 29 Oct. 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