crime wave
12
3.4
- noun
- /kraɪm weɪv/
:
ola de delincuencia
- The city has been struggling to control a significant crime wave that has emerged in recent months.
Just the other day, MSNBC ran an article where they said that, well, the data doesn't support Trump in terms of there being a migrant crime wave.
- Just the other day, MSNBC ran an article where they said that, well, the data doesn't support Trump in terms of there being a migrant crime wave.
- People probably at that point probably thought they were safe, that the the crime wave of defenestration was over.
Examples
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During the summer, the area saw a sharp increase in thefts, marking the start of a worrying crime wave.
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Authorities are implementing new strategies to combat the crime wave affecting local neighborhoods.
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Looks like a major crime wave just hit, right?
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What is that, a new crime wave?
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Or suppose a crime wave hits a society and enormous damage is done to property by crime.
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I was born and raised here during the height of the crime wave of the 1970s and 1980s.
Blog text (26) -
There is a broadcast on the mounting crime wave.
Fiction book (1997) -
He wants this crime wave stopped immediately.
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It is unknown if this crime wave will end.
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The widespread perception in the communities was that this crime wave was caused by the flawed operation of the national police and justice systems.
Academic text (2001)
Antonyms
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a sudden surge in criminal activity' is directly and predictably derived from combining 'crime' (illegal activity) with 'wave' (a surge or period of activity). The metaphorical use of 'wave' to mean a surge is common cross-linguistically and follows a straightforward compositional pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents will very likely infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Crime wave comes from the image of a big wave rushing onto the shore, but instead of water the moving thing is many crimes. That's why it means 'a sudden increase in crime'.