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Glite Dictionary
victimless crime

victimless crime

6 6.3
An illegal act that does not directly harm other people, for example private drug use
  • noun
  • /ˈvɪktɪmləs kraɪm/
  • Specialized
translation icon : delito sin víctima
  • The enormous number of people in prison for victimless crimes.

But but there were, you know, this, this notion of like victimless crime was real on the Silk Road.

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Examples

  • And conservatives fear that an overreaching state, fueled by exaggerated media reports, will prosecute people for victimless crimes.

    Academic text (1998)

  • Some lawmakers are pushing to decriminalize acts they consider to be victimless crimes like sex work and gambling.

  • I was handling more cash then I'd ever seen in my life and it felt like a victimless crime.

    The Rise & Fall of a White Collar Hooligan (2012)

  • It was a victimless crime.

    R.I.P.D. (2013)

  • Jaywalking is a victimless crime for the most part.

    Blog text (32)

  • Jaywalking is a victimless crime.

    Blog text (32)

  • It's because over half the people being sent to prison are there for victimless crimes, aka nonsense.

    Blog text (14)

  • As we think about the role of government in victimless crimes like gambling, prostitution, drugs, premarital sex, and homosexual marriage, let us remember the failure of Prohibition.

    Blog text (32)

  • Many people argue that drug use should not be criminalized since it is a victimless crime involving only consenting adults.

  • Buying counterfeit DVDs is often seen as a victimless crime because it doesn’t appear to hurt anyone directly.

Surface Forms

victimless crime singular
victimless crimes plural

Morphology

victimless + crime

The meaning 'a crime that does not seem to have any direct victims' is directly derivable from combining 'victimless' (without victims) and 'crime' (an unlawful act). This is a straightforward compositional phrase following clear morphological logic, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.

Etymology

The phrase victimless crime comes from discussions about laws when people put together victimless, meaning 'no one is hurt', and crime, meaning a wrong act. So it is used for things like private drug use or gambling that seem to have 'no victim', which is why it means 'a crime that does not seem to have any direct victims'.