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

The complaint also alleges that each of the felony assault counts were hate crimes. —Carlos E. Castañeda, CBS News, 18 June 2026

Lu has been charged with four felonies and four misdemeanors, including a hate crime and burning a cross to intimidate, police said in a statement released Wednesday night. —ABC News, 18 June 2026

Two of the four felony counts are hate crime charges, police said. —Rebecca Cohen, NBC news, 18 June 2026

Our approach to preventing hate crimes must be rooted in a philosophy of relentless solidarity. —Zohran Mamdani, New York Daily News, 17 June 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