offence
- offence
- offence BrE
usually offense AmE
noun
1 (C) an illegal action or a crime: Driving while drunk is a serious offence. | a parking offense
(+ against): sexual offences against children | commit an offence (=do something that is an offence) | first offence (=the first illegal thing that someone has done) | criminal offence: Possession of stolen property is a criminal offence. | serious offence: serious offences under the Prevention of Terrorism Act | capital offence (=a crime for which death is the punishment) | minor offence (=one that is not very serious)
2 (U) behaviour which offends someone: cause/give offence (=offend someone): The problem was how to get rid of her without causing offence. | mean no offence (=have no intention of offending someone): Don't be upset by what he said; he meant no offence.
3 no offence spoken used to tell someone that you do not want to offend them by what you are saying: No offense, but this cheese tastes like rubber.
4 take offence to feel offended because of something someone has said or done: She's always quick to take offence.
5 (U) formal the act of attacking: It depends on whether it was used as a weapon of offence or defence.
6 (U) BrE the part of a game such as football concerned with getting points and winning
—see also: offense 1
Longman dictionary of contemporary English.
2004.
:
Look at other dictionaries:
offence — of‧fence [əˈfens] , offense noun 1. [countable] LAW an illegal action or a crime: • The company was not aware that it was committing an offence. • It is an offence to sell alco … Financial and business terms
offence — var of offense Merriam Webster’s Dictionary of Law. Merriam Webster. 1996. offence … Law dictionary
Offence — Of*fence , n. See {Offense}. [1913 Webster] … The Collaborative International Dictionary of English
offence — (n.) see OFFENSE (Cf. offense) … Etymology dictionary
offence — (Brit.) of·fence || É™ fens n. attack; (Sports) side that pursues (rather than defends); misdeed; insult; state of being offended; transgression (also offense) … English contemporary dictionary
offence — This is spelt ence in BrE, and offense in AmE … Modern English usage
offence — (US offense) ► NOUN 1) an illegal act; a breach of a law or rule. 2) resentment or hurt. 3) the action of making a military attack. 4) N. Amer. the attacking team in a sport … English terms dictionary
offence — [ə fens′] n. Brit. sp. of OFFENSE … English World dictionary
offence — of|fence W3 BrE offense AmE [əˈfens] n 1.) an illegal action or a crime ▪ The possession of stolen property is a criminal offence. ▪ Punishment for a first offence is a fine. ▪ His solicitor said he committed the offence because he was heavily in … Dictionary of contemporary English
offence */*/*/ — UK [əˈfens] / US noun Word forms offence : singular offence plural offences 1) [countable] a crime or illegal activity for which there is a punishment motoring/firearms/public order offences criminal offence: Killing these animals is a criminal… … English dictionary
