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

Anti-transgender hate crimes rose more than 10% from 2022 to 2023, according to the California Attorney General’s Office, and nationwide in 2021, trans people are more than four times more likely to be victims of a violent crime than were their peers, according to the UCLA Williams Institute. —Andrew Sheeler, Sacramento Bee, 13 Jan. 2025

Cook County records show that Ana Hernandez, 69, was indicted on one count of aggravated arson and one count of hate crime in April 2024. —Jason Meisner, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2025

This includes a May 2024 incident in which a New York driver was arrested on hate crime charges after trying to hit people outside an Orthodox Jewish school, according to NBC News. —Hannah Hudnall, USA TODAY, 6 Jan. 2025

The three men committed some of the most high-profile crimes of the past decade, which included hate crimes and charges of terrorism. —Ella Lee, The Hill, 23 Dec. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1960, in the meaning defined above

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