In the news: crime vocabulary | Learn English

Crime is never used as a verb. We say 'commit a crime'. Commit is the verb that collocates with 'crime': It basically means 'do'. ECHome ECNetwork YoungLearners LearnEnglish Partners ECCareers Blogs ECCentralBlog Boston Brighton Bristol Cambridge CapeTown London London30+ LosAngeles Malta Manchester Miami Montreal NewYork On-CampusatOswego On-CampusatFredonia Oxford SanDiego SanFrancisco Toronto Vancouver Washington,DC SignIn StudentSignIn StaffSignIn [email protected] +35623790555 HomeInthenews:crimevocabulary SelectratingPoorOkayGoodGreatAwesome Average:3.7(96votes) Sat,09/06/2008-00:00—ChrisMcCarthy Vocabulary Haveyoureverbeenthevictimofacrime? Haveyoueverwitnessedacrime? Haveyouevercommittedacrime? Theworldofcrimehasmuchspecialisedvocabulary.Onthispageyouwilllearnthemeaningoftheverbs,nounsandadjectiveswhichweassociatewithcrime.ThisshouldhelpyoutounderstandnewspaperandTVnewsreportsoncrime. Crime(noun)isanyillegalactionoractivity.Forexample,killingyourbossisacrime(evenifheisaterribleperson)! Crimeisneverusedasaverb.Wesay'commitacrime'.Commitistheverbthatcollocateswith'crime':Itbasicallymeans'do'. 'Hewassenttoprisonforacrimethathedidn'tcommit.' Apersonwhocommitsacrimeisacriminal: 'Adangerouscriminalescapedfromprison.' Criminalisalsousedasanadjective: 'Thereisalotofcriminalactivityinthisarea.' What’sthedifferencebetweenrobandsteal? Rob(verb)meanstakesomethingfromaplaceorperson.'Robabank.'Moneyistakenfromthebank,notthewholething.'Robandoldman.'Valuableitemsaretakenfromhim,wedonottakehim. Steal(verb)meanstotakesomething. 'IstolecandywhenIwasachild.''Mybagwasstolenattheparty.' Steal=presenttense/stole=pastsimple/stolen=pastparticiple Theftisthenounformfortheverbsteal. Athiefisthegeneralnamewegivetosomeonewhostealssomething. Typesofcrimeandtypesofcriminal Arson-thecrimeofstartingafireinordertodamageordestroysomething,especiallyabuilding.Arsonist–apersonwhostartsfirestodamageordestroysomething Bankrobbery(noun)–thecrimeofstealingmoneyfromabank.Bankrobber–thepersonwhostealsfromabank.Rob–verb Burglary(noun)–thecrimeofstealingfromabuilding.Burglar–apersonwhostealsfromabuilding.Burgle-verb Manslaughter(noun)-thecrimeofkillingapersonbysomeonewhodidnotintendtodoitorwhocannotberesponsiblefortheiractions. Murder(noun)–thecrimeofkillingsomeone.Murderer–apersonwhokills.Murder–verb Mugging(noun)–anactofattackingsomeoneandstealingtheirmoney.Mugger–thepersonwhoattackssomeonetostealtheirmoney.Mug–verb Shoplifting(noun)–takingsomethingfromashopwithoutpayingforit.Shoplifter–apersonwhostealsfromshops.Shoplift-verb Smuggling(noun)-theactoftakingthingsorpeopletoorfromaplacesecretlyandillegally.Smuggler–thepersonwhotakesthingsorpeopletoorfromaplacesecretlyandillegally.Smuggle-verb Pickpocketing(noun)–theactofstealingthingsoutofpocketsorbagssecretly.Pickpocket -apersonwhostealsthingsoutofpocketsorbagssecretly.Pickpocket -verb Otherpeopleassociatedwithcrime Victim–apersonwhoacrimehappensto.'Thecriminalstolethevictim'scar.' Witness–apersonwhosawacrimehappen.'Manywitnessessawthebankrobberleavingthebank.' Reading:weddingandvocabularymatchexercise The___wasarrestedbypolicewhocaughthimhidinginhisgarden.victimcriminalcrimewitnessItlookslikeheistryingto___thatumbrella.criminalrobstealcrimeThemanwas___ashewalkedhomelateatnight.stealrobbedstolenrobMywatchhasbeen___.stolenstealstolestealedShetriedto___drugsinhersuitcasefromTorontotoSeattle.smugglemugpickpocketburgleThe___wascaughtwiththeCDsinhisbagwhilehewasstillintheshop.shoplifterpickpocketsmugglermuggerIcaughta___tryingtostealmypurseonthecrowdedbus.pickpocketmurderershopliftersmugglerThe___wasshot5timesbythemurderer.criminalvictimthiefcrimePolicearetryingtocatchthe___whosetfiretotheschool.arsonmanarsonarsonistarsonerIhavenevercomitteda___.crimecriminalstealthief Bookmark/Searchthispostwith: Signuptoournewsletter"EnglishinyourInbox"toreceiveyourmonthlyfixofEnglishbyemail.Thenewsletterincludesusefullessons,competitionsandbookreviews. LessonIndex HelpUs! SevenLetters TryoutthisaddictivewordgameandcompeteagainstotherLearnEnglishvisitors.......haveyougotthelargestvocabulary?  EnglishlanguageSchools