Word.ws English Dictionary

high crime

/ˌhaɪ ˈkɹaɪm/

high crime noun: a major crime or wrongdoing, notably one subject to trial before the highest courts which may impose the gravest punishments.

Noun

high crime (plural high crimes)

  1. A major crime or wrongdoing, notably one subject to trial before the highest courts which may impose the gravest punishments.
    • Lese majesty used to be a high crime, for which royal or imperial courts often put offenders to death.
    • Charles Stuart King of England. You have been accuſed on behalf of the People of England of high Treaſon and other high Crimes; the Court have determined that you ought to anſwer the ſame.1649 February 1, C. W., A Perfect Narrative of the Whole Proceedings of the High Court of Iustice in the Tryal of the King in Westminster Hall, on Saturday the 20. and Monday the 22. of This Instant...

Examples of high crime in a sentence

  • You are here impeached of a very high Crime, High Treaſon; it may be a Strain of Youth: the firſt Step to Mercy is Confeſſion.1658 June 10, “The Tryal of John Mordant, Esq; on Tuesday the First of June, 1658. 10 Car. II.”, in [Thomas Salmon], editor, A Compleat...
  • The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.1787 September 17, “[Constitution of the United States]”, in The Constitution of the United States: A Transcription, Washington, D.C....
  • Congress has repeatedly defined "other high Crimes and Misdemeanors" to be serious violations of the public trust, not necessarily indictable offenses under criminal law [...]1989 April 25, Impeachment of Walter L. Nixon, Jr., Report to Accompany H. Res. 87, 101st Congress, 1st Session [H. Rep. 101-36]...

Antonyms of high crime

Forms of high crime

pluralhigh crimes

Origin of high crime

From high (“of great importance and consequence; grave”) + crime.

Questions about high crime

What does high crime mean?
High crime means a major crime or wrongdoing, notably one subject to trial before the highest courts which may impose the gravest punishments.
How do you use high crime in a sentence?
You are here impeached of a very high Crime, High Treaſon; it may be a Strain of Youth: the firſt Step to Mercy is Confeſſion.
What part of speech is high crime?
High crime is a noun.
How do you pronounce high crime?
High crime is pronounced /ˌhaɪ ˈkɹaɪm/ (UK).
What is the plural of high crime?
The plural of high crime is high crimes.

Words near high crime in the dictionary

  1. high country
  2. high court
  3. high courts
  4. high crawl
  5. high crawls
  6. high crime
  7. high crimes
  8. high cross
  9. high crosses
  10. high cube
  11. high culture

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: high crime (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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