Crime and Law Vocabulary in English: Words, Examples and Quiz
The words you need to understand crime stories in the news, films and series: types of crime, the people involved, what the police do, what happens in court and the punishments.
51 words · By LearnLingo Team · Updated
Tap to hear a word. Pronunciation is American English. Levels follow the CEFR scale. Turkish translations are given as a quick check.
Crimes and crime verbs
Names of common crimes, from small to serious, and the two verbs learners mix up most: steal and rob. You steal something (a phone, money), but you rob someone or somewhere (a person, a bank).
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
crime ⁄kraɪm⁄ · noun A2 | something people do that is against the law; also illegal acts in general Crime in the city center has gone down this year. | suç |
steal ⁄stiːl⁄ · verb A2 | to take something that is not yours without asking (past: stole, stolen) Someone stole my bike from outside the station. | çalmak |
rob ⁄rɑːb⁄ · verb B1 | to take money or things from a person or place, often using force Two men robbed a jewelry store on Main Street. | soymak |
theft ⁄θeft⁄ · noun B2 | the crime of stealing Car theft is a big problem in this area. | hırsızlık |
burglary ⁄ˈbɝːɡlɚi⁄ · noun B2 | the crime of going into a building to steal things There were three burglaries on our street last month. | ev veya iş yeri hırsızlığı |
robbery ⁄ˈrɑːbɚi⁄ · noun B2 | the crime of taking things from a person or place, often with violence The bank robbery was caught on camera. | soygun |
shoplifting ⁄ˈʃɑːplɪftɪŋ⁄ · noun B2 | stealing things from a shop while it is open He was caught shoplifting a pair of sunglasses. | mağazadan hırsızlık |
vandalism ⁄ˈvændəlɪzəm⁄ · noun B2 | damaging public places or other people's things on purpose The broken bus shelter is the result of vandalism. | vandalizm, kamu malına zarar verme |
fraud ⁄frɔːd⁄ · noun B2 | the crime of tricking people to get money He lost his savings because of online fraud. | dolandırıcılık |
murder ⁄ˈmɝːdɚ⁄ · noun B1 | the crime of killing a person on purpose The police are treating the death as murder. | cinayet |
assault ⁄əˈsɔːlt⁄ · noun B2 | the crime of attacking and hurting someone He was arrested for assault after the fight. | saldırı |
kidnapping ⁄ˈkɪdnæpɪŋ⁄ · noun B2 | the crime of taking someone away by force, often to get money The film is about the kidnapping of a rich man's son. | adam kaçırma |
People involved in a crime
The person who does the crime, the person it happens to, and the people who see it. Many criminal nouns end in -er or -ar: robber, burglar.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
criminal ⁄ˈkrɪmɪnəl⁄ · noun B1 | a person who has done a crime The criminals escaped in a stolen car. | suçlu |
thief ⁄θiːf⁄ · noun B1 | a person who steals; plural thieves A thief took my wallet on the bus. | hırsız |
burglar ⁄ˈbɝːɡlɚ⁄ · noun B2 | a person who goes into a building to steal The burglar got in through the kitchen window. | ev hırsızı |
robber ⁄ˈrɑːbɚ⁄ · noun B1 | a person who robs a person or place The robbers wore masks. | soyguncu |
shoplifter ⁄ˈʃɑːplɪftɚ⁄ · noun B2 | a person who steals from a shop The security guard stopped the shoplifter at the door. | mağaza hırsızı |
murderer ⁄ˈmɝːdɚɚ⁄ · noun B1 | a person who has killed someone on purpose The detective finally found the murderer. | katil |
suspect ⁄ˈsʌspekt⁄ · noun B2 | a person the police think may have done a crime The police have arrested a suspect. | şüpheli |
victim ⁄ˈvɪktɪm⁄ · noun B1 | a person who is hurt or loses something because of a crime The victim was taken to hospital. | mağdur, kurban |
witness ⁄ˈwɪtnəs⁄ · noun B2 | a person who sees a crime or accident and can say what happened Police are asking witnesses to come forward. | tanık |
gang ⁄ɡæŋ⁄ · noun B2 | a group of criminals who work together A gang of car thieves was arrested yesterday. | çete |
The police and the investigation
What happens after a crime. In the news, these words often appear in the passive: A man has been arrested. He was charged with theft.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
police officer ⁄pəˈliːs ˌɔːfɪsɚ⁄ · noun A2 | a man or woman who works for the police A police officer asked me what I had seen. | polis memuru |
report a crime ⁄rɪˌpɔːrt ə ˈkraɪm⁄ · phrase B1 | to tell the police that a crime has happened You should report the crime to the police right away. | suçu bildirmek, ihbar etmek |
arrest ⁄əˈrest⁄ · verb B1 | to take someone to a police station because they may have done a crime The police arrested him at the airport. | gözaltına almak, tutuklamak |
search ⁄sɝːtʃ⁄ · verb B1 | to look carefully through a place or a person to find something The police searched the house for drugs. | aramak, arama yapmak |
evidence ⁄ˈevɪdəns⁄ · noun B2 | facts or things that show something is true There isn't enough evidence to prove he did it. | kanıt, delil |
clue ⁄kluː⁄ · noun B2 | a small fact or object that helps you find the answer to a mystery The detective found an important clue in the garden. | ipucu |
fingerprint ⁄ˈfɪŋɡɚprɪnt⁄ · noun B2 | the mark a finger leaves on something it touches His fingerprints were on the glass. | parmak izi |
security camera ⁄sɪˈkjʊrəti ˌkæmɚə⁄ · noun B1 | a camera that records a place to prevent or show crime; CCTV in British English The security camera filmed the thief's face. | güvenlik kamerası |
charge ⁄tʃɑːrdʒ⁄ · verb B2 | to say officially that someone has done a crime, so they must go to court She was charged with fraud. | suçlamak, itham etmek |
In court
Words for the trial, where a court decides if someone did a crime. In the US and the UK, some trials have a jury of ordinary people.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
law ⁄lɔː⁄ · noun B1 | the system of rules a country has; also one of these rules There is a new law against using phones while driving. | yasa, kanun, hukuk |
court ⁄kɔːrt⁄ · noun B1 | the place where a judge decides legal cases He has to go to court next month. | mahkeme |
trial ⁄ˈtraɪəl⁄ · noun B2 | the process in court where people decide if someone is guilty The trial lasted three weeks. | dava, duruşma |
judge ⁄dʒʌdʒ⁄ · noun B1 | the person in charge of a court who makes legal decisions The judge listened carefully to both sides. | hakim, yargıç |
jury ⁄ˈdʒʊri⁄ · noun B2 | a group of ordinary people who decide in court if someone is guilty The jury took two days to reach a decision. | jüri |
lawyer ⁄ˈlɔːjɚ⁄ · noun A2 | a person whose job is to give legal advice and speak for people in court Don't say anything until your lawyer arrives. | avukat |
prove ⁄pruːv⁄ · verb B1 | to show with facts that something is true The video proved that he was at home that night. | kanıtlamak |
guilty ⁄ˈɡɪlti⁄ · adjective B1 | having done a crime, as decided by a court The jury found him guilty of robbery. | suçlu |
innocent ⁄ˈɪnəsənt⁄ · adjective B2 | not having done the crime She says she is innocent. | masum, suçsuz |
sentence ⁄ˈsentəns⁄ · noun B2 | the punishment a judge gives to a guilty person He got a two-year prison sentence. | ceza, hüküm |
Breaking the law and punishment
General words for what is allowed and what is not, and what happens to people who break the law.
| Word | Meaning and example | Turkish |
|---|---|---|
legal ⁄ˈliːɡəl⁄ · adjective B1 | allowed by the law Is it legal to park here at night? | yasal |
illegal ⁄ɪˈliːɡəl⁄ · adjective B1 | not allowed by the law It's illegal to drive without insurance. | yasa dışı |
break the law ⁄ˌbreɪk ðə ˈlɔː⁄ · phrase B1 | to do something that the law does not allow If you drive too fast, you are breaking the law. | yasayı çiğnemek |
commit ⁄kəˈmɪt⁄ · verb B2 | to do a crime or something wrong The crime was committed late at night. | (suç) işlemek |
punishment ⁄ˈpʌnɪʃmənt⁄ · noun B1 | something bad that happens to a person because they did something wrong Do you think the punishment was too hard? | ceza |
fine ⁄faɪn⁄ · noun B1 | money you must pay because you broke a rule or law I got a fine for parking in the wrong place. | para cezası |
prison ⁄ˈprɪzən⁄ · noun A2 | a building where criminals are kept as a punishment He spent five years in prison. | hapishane, cezaevi |
jail ⁄dʒeɪl⁄ · noun B2 | a prison; in American English, often a place for short stays or before a trial He spent the night in jail after the fight. | hapis, nezarethane |
community service ⁄kəˌmjuːnəti ˈsɝːvɪs⁄ · noun B2 | unpaid work for the public that a court gives instead of prison She was given 100 hours of community service. | kamu hizmeti cezası |
release ⁄rɪˈliːs⁄ · verb B2 | to let someone go free from prison or the police He was released from prison last week. | serbest bırakmak, tahliye etmek |
Useful phrases and collocations
commit a crime
He committed the crime when he was only eighteen.
break the law
I've never broken the law, not even a parking rule.
be arrested for
She was arrested for shoplifting.
be charged with
Two men have been charged with robbery.
be accused of
He is accused of stealing from his employer.
go on trial
The suspect will go on trial in March.
find someone guilty
The jury found her not guilty.
be sentenced to
He was sentenced to six years in prison.
pay a fine
I had to pay a fine for driving too fast.
go to prison
If he is found guilty, he could go to prison.
a crime scene
The police closed off the crime scene.
a serious crime
Fraud is a serious crime.
petty crime
Most crime in the area is petty crime, like phone theft.
get away with
He thought he could get away with it, but the camera saw him.
How to learn these words
Learn crime words in families of three: the crime, the person and the verb. Theft, thief, steal. Burglary, burglar, burgle (burglarize in American English). Robbery, robber, rob. Murder, murderer, murder. Say each family aloud, then make one sentence with it. Review the families again after a few days; short, spaced reviews work best, as explained in how to learn English vocabulary.
Steal and rob are the most common mix-up. Steal goes with the thing: He stole my phone. Rob goes with the person or place: He robbed me. They robbed a bank. You cannot say He stole me.
Crime news uses the passive a lot, because the victim or the action is more important than the police or the court: A man has been arrested. She was charged with fraud. He was sentenced to two years. Learn these as fixed phrases with their prepositions (arrested for, charged with, accused of, sentenced to) and see the passive voice for the grammar.
The police is a plural noun in English: The police are investigating, not The police is investigating. For one person, say a police officer. British English often uses prison and CCTV, while American English often uses jail and security cameras; crime series are a good way to hear both, see learn English with movies.
Use the words: speaking and writing tasks
- Retell the story of a crime film or series you have watched in eight sentences, from the crime to the trial, using at least six words from this page.
- Make a table of word families (crime, criminal, verb) for theft, burglary, robbery, murder and shoplifting, and say each row aloud.
- Find a short crime story in the news. Rewrite three sentences from it in your own words using the passive: was arrested, was charged with, was sentenced to.
- Imagine you saw someone steal a bike. Write what you would tell the police as a witness: what happened, when, and what the thief looked like.
- Give your opinion in writing: Should people who commit small crimes go to prison or do community service? Use punishment, fine and sentence.
Common mistakes
Someone stole me on the bus.
Someone robbed me on the bus. or Someone stole my wallet on the bus.
You steal a thing, but you rob a person or a place. Steal cannot take a person as its object.
They robbed my phone.
They stole my phone.
The object of rob is the victim or the place (they robbed me, they robbed a shop). For the thing taken, use steal.
He made a crime when he was young.
He committed a crime when he was young.
The verb that goes with crime is commit. Make a crime and do a crime are not natural English.
The police is looking for the thief.
The police are looking for the thief.
Police is a plural noun and takes a plural verb. For one person, say a police officer.
He was punished to five years in prison.
He was sentenced to five years in prison.
A judge sentences someone to a punishment. Use be sentenced to with the time in prison.
Practice quiz
10 questions. Pick an answer to see if it is right and why.
1. Someone ___ my bag while I was on the train.
2. Choose the correct sentence.
3. A person who goes into houses to steal things is a ___.
4. The police think he did it, but they are not sure. He is a ___.
5. Choose the natural phrase.
6. The jury decided she didn't do it. She was found ___.
7. He was ___ to three years in prison.
8. I parked in the wrong place and had to pay a ___.
9. What is a witness?
10. Choose the correct sentence.
0 of 10 answered
Show all answers
- stole
- Two men robbed the bank.
- burglar
- suspect
- commit a crime
- not guilty
- sentenced
- fine
- A person who saw a crime and can say what happened
- The police are coming.
See what the B1 English course covers, or test your level first.
People also ask
What is the difference between steal and rob?+
Steal goes with the thing that is taken: She stole a car. Rob goes with the person or place: She robbed a bank, They robbed an old man. Robbery also often involves force or threats, while theft and stealing can be done secretly.
What is the difference between theft, burglary and robbery?+
Theft is the general word for stealing. Burglary is going into a building, often a home, to steal. Robbery is taking something from a person or place, usually with violence or threats, like a bank robbery.
What is the difference between prison and jail?+
In British English they mean almost the same, and prison is more common. In American English, jail is usually a local place for short sentences or for people waiting for a trial, and prison is for longer sentences.
Is police singular or plural?+
Police is a plural noun: The police are here. You cannot say a police; say a police officer, or policeman and policewoman. In British English you may also hear constable for a low-ranking officer.
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