n. · formal
offence
UK/əˈfens/US/əˈfɛns/of·FENCE
Band 5-6speakingtask2
An illegal act or a breach of a law.
Examples
“Speeding is a common traffic offence.”
“He was charged with several minor offences.”
“Different countries define the same act as an offence or not.”
Band 8 sentence
“While speeding is technically an offence, many believe education is a better response than harsh fines.”
Collocations
- commit an offence
- minor/serious offence
- criminal offence
Word family
offence n.offend v.
Common mistakes
He did a crime.→He committed a crime / He committed an offence.
He was charged on speeding.→He was charged with speeding.
Say it for a higher band
5crime→6wrongdoing→7+offence
Synonyms
crime
Easily confused
crime
“The study compared crime rates across several cities.”
Related words
Learn this word with the rest of its set, and get reminded at the right time.
In Crime & Law
Learn it with its set