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Definition of corruption noun from the Oxford Advanced American Dictionary

     

    corruption

     noun
    noun
    NAmE//kəˈrʌpʃn//
     
     
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  1. 1[uncountable] dishonest or illegal behavior, especially of people in authority allegations of bribery and corruption The new district attorney has promised to fight police corruption. Topic CollocationsCrimecommitting a crime
    • commit a crime/a murder/a violent assault/a brutal killing/an armed robbery/fraud/perjury
    • be involved in terrorism/a suspected arson attack/human smuggling/human trafficking
    • engage/participate in criminal activity/illegal practices/acts of mindless vandalism
    • steal somebody's wallet/purse/watch/cell phone
    • rob a bank/a person/a tourist
    • break into/burglarize a house/a home/an apartment/an office
    • hijack a plane/ship/bus
    • smuggle drugs/weapons/arms/people/immigrants
    • launder (drug) money (through something)
    • forge documents/certificates/passports
    • take/accept/pay somebody/offer (somebody) a bribe
    • run a phishing scam/an e-mail scam/an Internet scam
    fighting crime
    • combat/fight crime/terrorism/drug trafficking/corruption
    • prevent/stop credit-card fraud/child abuse/software piracy
    • deter/stop criminals/burglars/thieves/shoplifters/vandals
    • reduce/tackle/crack down on gun/violent/street/property crime
    • foil a bank robbery/a terrorist plot
    • help/support/protect the victims of crime
    investigating crime
    • report a crime/a theft/a rape/an attack/an incident to the police
    • witness a crime/an attack/a murder/an incident
    • investigate a murder/a homicide/a burglary/a robbery/the alleged incident
    • conduct/launch/pursue/open an investigation (into…)
    • investigate/reopen a criminal/murder case
    • examine/investigate/find fingerprints at the crime scene/the scene of crime
    • collect/gather forensic evidence/physical evidence
    • uncover/discover new evidence/a fraud/a scam/a plot/a conspiracy/political corruption/a cache of weapons
    • describe/identify a suspect/the culprit/the perpetrator/the assailant/the attacker
    • question/interrogate a suspect/witness
    • solve/crack the case
    • ⇨ more collocations at
  2. 2[uncountable] the act or effect of making someone change from moral to immoral standards of behavior He claimed that sex and violence on TV led to the corruption of young people.
  3. 3[countable, usually singular] the form of a word or phrase that has become changed from its original form in some way The word “holiday” is a corruption of “holy day.”
See corruption in the Oxford Advanced Learner's Dictionary