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Definition of offender noun from the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary

offender

noun
 
 
/əˈfendə(r)/
 
/əˈfendər/
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  1.  
    (rather formal) a person who commits a crime
    • a persistent/serious/violent, etc. offender
    • a young offender institution
    see also first offender, sex offender, young offender
    Extra Examples
    • He favours tougher punishments for repeat offenders.
    • He spent some time in a young offender institution.
    • Persistent offenders risk losing their licence.
    Topics Crime and punishmentb2
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • alleged
    • convicted
    • first
    • …
    verb + offender
    • sentence
    See full entry
  2.  
    a person or thing that does something wrong
    • The report on sexual discrimination at work shows that some of the worst offenders are women.
    • When it comes to pollution, the chemical industry is a major offender.
    Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective
    • main
    • worst
    See full entry
See offender in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee offender in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic English
Check pronunciation: offender

Nearby words

given
adjective
 
 
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