noun phrase · neutral
white-collar crime
UK/ˌwaɪt ˈkɒl.ər kraɪm/US/ˌwaɪt ˈkɑː.lər kraɪm/WHITE·col·lar CRIME
Non-violent crimes committed in business or professional settings, such as fraud or embezzlement.
Examples
“Many cases of white-collar crime go unreported for years.”
“Regulators tightened rules to prevent white-collar crime in the banking sector.”
“Investigators specialise in detecting white-collar crime such as accounting fraud.”
Band 8 sentence
“Enforcing stricter auditing standards is essential to deter white-collar crime at senior corporate levels.”
Collocations
- corporate white-collar crime
- white-collar criminals
- investigate white-collar crime
Word family
Common mistakes
white collar crime→white-collar crime
office crime→white-collar crime
economic crimes only→white-collar crime
Say it for a higher band
5economic crime→6business crime→7+white-collar crime
Synonyms
economic crime
Easily confused
violent crime
“The city saw a rise in violent crime last year, unlike the decline in fraud cases.”
Related words
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In Crime & Law
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