Crime & Law

To accept and act in accordance with a rule, decision, or agreement.

To be responsible or answerable to a person or authority for your actions.

To take an action that opposes, contradicts, or works contrary to something.

To place a child (or sometimes an animal) with adoptive parents; to arrange for someone to be adopted by another family.

To direct a weapon, camera, or effort toward a target, or to design something for a specific group.

To stock up on ammunition, or figuratively to gather arguments, facts, or resources in preparation for a confrontation.

To be responsible for something and accept the consequences, or to speak on behalf of someone else.

To formally request something such as a job, course, grant, or permit by completing a process or form

To supply or distribute weapons or equipment outward to others, especially to external groups or allies.

To equip oneself or others with weapons, or to build up military or defensive capability.

To stop and detain someone by force or threat, or to corner someone for a conversation.

To continue doing something persistently, noisily, or energetically, especially shooting, typing, or working.

To produce or complete something very quickly, often without much care; or for something to detonate or fire with a bang.

To damage something or someone through impact; in British slang, to imprison; used as an adjective meaning excellent.

To attack and injure someone by hitting them repeatedly.

Legal: for a court to order someone to keep the peace or appear in court at a future date, usually under threat of penalty.

To fire weapons continuously; to attack or demolish something with great force; or to proceed energetically at a task.

To fire weapons rapidly and continuously; or to burn intensely with bright flames; or to work or speak with great energy.

To initiate someone into a gang or criminal group through a violent act.

To leave a gang or criminal group, typically through an act of violence or at the cost of one's life.

To make something or someone covered in blood, usually through injury.

To destroy a building or force people from their home by bombing; or (informal) to fail completely or be eliminated from a competition.

To bend the body forward as a sign of respect or worship, or to submit to someone's power.

To show respect to someone by bowing, or to yield to someone's authority, wishes, or pressure.

to enter by force, interrupt, train something new, or make shoes comfortable by use

to enter forcibly, begin suddenly, or manage to enter a new area or activity

to escape, begin suddenly, or appear on the skin

to instruct a lawyer or advocate to argue against someone or something

To place something or someone under the control, authority, or influence of something else.

To murder someone, especially in a deliberate and planned way (informal, often humorous or euphemistic).

To enter a place forcefully and suddenly by breaking something; also to gain access to something protected.

To escape from confinement; to suddenly produce or begin something; (US informal) to use or display something impressively.

To bribe or silence someone by giving them money or something of value.

To telephone someone, to conscript someone for military service, or to retrieve stored data or memories.

To successfully achieve something difficult or challenging; to remove something by force; or (dated) to cause death.

To take or remove someone or something to another place, especially using a vehicle and often implying force or dismissiveness.

To secretly observe or investigate a place before doing something there, often with criminal intent.

To banish or expel someone from a group or place, often with a sense of moral or spiritual condemnation.

To discover that someone has done something wrong, made a mistake, or is lying.

(prison slang) To be placed in a cell with another prisoner; to share a prison cell.

To restrain a person, animal, or object by fastening it with a chain.

To discharge someone from military service under a specific chapter of military regulations.

To say something with great difficulty because of overwhelming emotion or physical distress, or to render someone unconscious by compressing

To take strong action to control, restrict, or suppress something that was previously tolerated

To imprison or confine someone suddenly; an old-fashioned expression.

to happen earlier than something, or to be judged or considered by an authority

to criticize or punish someone strongly

to criticize, attack, or punish someone severely

To officially sentence someone to a punishment, or to cause someone to experience a harsh or unpleasant fate.

In legal contexts, to disqualify a lawyer or firm from a case due to a conflict of interest.

To formally and legally choose to remove oneself from a particular obligation, scheme, or agreement.

To close off or surround an area with a barrier, tape, or line of people to prevent access, usually done by police or emergency services.

To conceal something, especially wrongdoing or mistakes, or to place something over an object to hide it.

To take firm action to stop or punish illegal or undesirable activity.

To formally surrender or hand someone or something into the power or custody of another.

To formally hand someone or something over to another person or authority.

To hand someone or something over to an authority, especially formally or under compulsion.

To formally surrender or present someone or something to a specific person or authority.

To inform on or betray someone to the authorities (American slang).

To get rid of something by discarding, selling, or dealing with it in an appropriate way.

To abolish, eliminate, or get rid of something permanently; informally, to kill someone.

To exhaust someone completely; to injure or harm something; or to kill someone. (Informal)

To report someone to an authority for doing something wrong; to inform on someone. (Australian/NZ English)

To report someone to an authority figure for misbehaviour; to inform on someone. (Australian/NZ English)

To give or take a large amount of drugs, whether medicinal or illicit.

To force a person, group, or thing to leave a place permanently.

To officially and publicly expel someone from an organization, especially in a shameful or ceremonial way.

In British prison slang, to lock a cell door; also used in audio contexts to mean mixing or dubbing a recording.

(British informal) To attack and physically beat someone up.

To fabricate, forge, or put together something false in order to deceive.

To touch someone's body in a sexual way without their consent. (Vulgar; describes sexual harassment or assault.)

To formally submit or lodge an official document with an authority, court, or organization.

To fail to honour a commitment or promise, especially by backing out at the last moment; or to inform on someone to an authority.

To equip or furnish something; or, in British slang, to falsely incriminate someone.

To openly mock or show contempt for a rule, authority, or convention.

To clean something by pushing water through it; or to force a person, animal, or information out of hiding.

To incriminate an innocent person by fabricating evidence; or to assemble a physical frame structure.

British criminal slang meaning to inject an illegal drug intravenously.

To do something wrong or risky without being caught or punished.

To leave a vehicle, to avoid punishment, to stop touching something, or to send a message.

To escape serious punishment, or (British informal) to have a casual romantic or sexual encounter with someone.

A legal or archaic expression meaning to deliver a judgment or verdict unfavorable to a particular party.

To remove something by digging, cutting, or forcing it out, leaving a hole or cavity; often violent in connotation.

To cover a surface with graffiti; used within graffiti and street art subculture.

To exempt someone or something from a new rule or requirement because they were part of an existing system before the rule changed.

To inform on someone to an authority, especially the police, in a way considered disloyal or treacherous.

To inform on someone to the police or another authority; a British slang synonym of 'grass on'.

To apply grease, oil, or a lubricant to something or someone; figuratively, to bribe or use money to smooth the way.

To shoot and kill or seriously injure someone with a firearm, often suddenly and deliberately.

To fire a gun or shoot rapidly; also used informally to mean to speak aggressively or impulsively.

To arm oneself or others with guns; also to accelerate an engine by increasing its throttle.

To pass something from an older or higher source to a younger or lower one, or to officially deliver a judgement.

To give control, possession, or custody of something to another person or authority.

To pass something upward to someone above, or (slang) to inform against someone to authorities.

To secretly devise or plot a plan, scheme, or idea, often with cunning or negative intent.

To pull or drag something or someone in with effort; to earn a large amount of money.

To forcefully remove someone or something; or to suddenly draw back and strike.

To raise something with effort; or to bring someone before an authority to answer for wrongdoing.

British slang meaning either to have sex with someone, or to steal something and escape.

(British, informal) To bring someone before a court or authority to face charges.

To stay in a secret or hidden place in order to avoid being found, usually by people in authority or by enemies.

To support something physically, to delay, to endure, or to rob someone at gunpoint

To hide or take shelter in a place, often for safety, to avoid someone, or to be alone

To pursue someone relentlessly and persistently until they are caught or cornered.

To search for and find someone or something after a determined, persistent effort, especially with the intention of capturing or confronting

To keep something secret by preventing people from talking about it, or to tell someone to be quiet.

To secretly give information about someone's illegal or improper activities to an authority figure.

Used in the fixed expression 'the jig is up,' meaning a trick, deception, or secret has been discovered and ended.

A rare variant of 'jimmy up'; to force something open using a lever or tool.

To force something open or into place using a jimmy (a crowbar-like tool) or similar leverage.

To relax completely and do nothing; to receive or pay an illegal payment as a bribe; or to recoil from a force.

To destroy or break something open by kicking it; also used figuratively to mean to remove obstacles aggressively.

A rare or dialectal variant meaning to leave quickly, to stop doing something, or to steal.

To attack or stab someone with a knife; or to prepare knives for use.

Non-standard/rare variant of 'knife up'; to attack with a knife or to arm oneself with knives.

To stop work for the day, to steal, to kill, to produce quickly, or to reduce a price.

To flee or escape quickly, especially from the authorities or from a difficult situation.

To hire a lawyer or demand legal representation, typically when facing criminal investigation, interrogation, or legal threat.

To hide and wait in ambush for someone, usually with hostile or mischievous intent.

To excuse someone from punishment or a duty, or to fire or detonate something.

To reach the maximum legal number of fish or game that a hunter or angler is permitted to catch in one day.

To secure something in a locked place, or to imprison someone for a long time.

To impose strict restrictions on movement or access to a place, especially for security or public health reasons.

To seal or restrict access to an area by locking barriers or controls.

To secure a building by locking all doors and windows, or to put someone in jail.

British slang: to bribe someone with money, or to pay someone to secure their cooperation or silence.

To fire a weapon or release a volley of shots; also used figuratively for sending an aggressive communication.

To leave quickly; to flee or escape. (Also an archaic expression for killing oneself.)

To steal something and escape with it; or (formal/archaic) to kill someone or to destroy something.

To leave quickly, especially after doing something wrong or to avoid being caught.

To steal or take something and leave quickly with it.

To completely transform the appearance or style of a person or place; or (formal/legal) to transfer ownership of property.

To formally distribute or dispense something, especially punishment or justice.

To kill or knock down a large number of people rapidly and violently.

To formally enlist or admit someone into military service through an official ceremony.

To formally discharge someone from military service.

To reduce a list of options, suspects, or possibilities to a smaller, more manageable set.

To search someone by patting their body, or to go to bed or a sleeping place.

To deliberately pretend to be a different type of person or to have a different identity in order to deceive others.

to touch a person's clothes with the hands to check for hidden objects

to finish paying money owed, to bring a successful result, or to bribe someone

To falsify or fake something; to make something appear genuine when it is not.

To falsify or fabricate something; to make something appear genuine when it is not.

To shoot or eliminate targets individually with precision; to remove something by picking.

to form, rebuild, or understand something by joining separate pieces or clues

To negotiate a reduction in a criminal charge to a lesser offense, typically through a plea bargain.

To resolve a criminal case by entering a plea bargain rather than going to trial.

An archaic legal term meaning to respond to a charge by raising a new matter or demurrer rather than directly denying the facts.

To advocate or argue strongly for a higher value, compensation, or charge; the opposite direction of 'plead down.'

To hunt and eat another animal, or to exploit and take advantage of vulnerable people.

to target and exploit someone or something vulnerable

To arrive at a place (of a vehicle), to attract or earn something, or to bring someone in for questioning.

To move a vehicle to the side of the road and stop, or for a police officer to signal a driver to do so.

To formally present something (a proposal, question, or case) to a person or group for consideration or judgment.

To remove something with a rake, or to take an illegal or dishonest percentage of money from a deal.

To secretly inform on someone to an authority, especially betraying a friend or associate.

To inform on or betray someone to an authority, typically breaking loyalty.

To cheat someone by charging too much or stealing from them; to copy someone's idea or work without permission; or to remove something quick

To tear something into small pieces, or to cancel or disregard an agreement, rule, or document.

A regional or dialectal variant of 'rob', meaning to steal from someone or to burgle a place completely.

To reverse or reduce something, especially prices, laws, or policies, to a previous level.

To find and remove or eliminate something harmful or unwanted, especially something deeply embedded.

To assault or handle someone roughly, usually as a threat or intimidation rather than to cause serious harm.

Vulgar slang: to masturbate. Also a general informal extension of 'rub out' meaning to eliminate.

To remove a mark or writing by rubbing with an eraser; also criminal slang for killing someone.

to decide that something is possible, relevant, or included

to make an official decision about a case, issue, or request

to decide that something is impossible, not allowed, or not worth considering

to steal and leave with something, or for feelings or imagination to take control

To arrest someone and take them to a police station, or to operate a new engine gently at first to break it in

To have a conflict, argument, or confrontation with someone, especially a person in authority

To leave secretly with a person (often a romantic partner) or to steal something and escape with it

To review or practise something from start to finish, to stab someone with a long weapon, or for something to spread rapidly through a group

To discover or locate something by smell, or by following subtle clues.

A rare, chiefly dialectal phrasal verb meaning either to screw or crumple something up, or (in British dialects) related to scrumping (steal

To knock down, kill, or eliminate many people or things in a swift, sweeping manner

To close an area or place completely, preventing access or escape

In finance, for a broker to sell a client's investments without their knowledge or authorisation; or historically, to sell people away from

To sentence someone to prison; to expel a student from a British university; or to order someone to go to a lower floor or area.

To sentence someone to prison for a specific crime (British English).

To complete a fixed period of time, such as a prison sentence or term of office, or to distribute food to people.

To send someone or an animal in pursuit of someone who is fleeing.

To attack someone suddenly and violently, often as a group.

To reach a financial or legal resolution with someone, or to pay a debt to a specific person or organisation.

To extort money from someone through threats, or to test new equipment thoroughly before use, or to search someone or a place roughly.

To fire back at an attacker, or to reply quickly and sharply

To bring down an aircraft with gunfire, or to decisively reject an idea or proposal

To settle a dispute or competition by gunfire or by an intense decisive contest

To leave very quickly, or to fire a weapon/firework

To grow or rise very rapidly, to attack a place with gunfire, or (slang) to inject drugs

To adjust and calibrate the sights of a firearm so that it shoots accurately at a given distance.

To formally give up rights, property, or entitlements by signing a legal document.

To formally transfer ownership or rights of something to another person by signing a legal document.

To remove something from the surface of a liquid, or to dishonestly take a portion of money or resources.

To roll a cannabis cigarette (a joint), using rolling papers called 'skins'.

To pass through a barrier, system, or set of controls without being caught or stopped

In a prison context, to empty buckets of human waste — a practice from when cells lacked toilets

To destroy or force open something by hitting it very hard.

To detect or discover something by using the sense of smell, or by instinct and keen perception.

To force a person or animal out of hiding by filling their shelter with smoke, or figuratively to expose someone who is hiding the truth.

To secretly carry or move something or someone past a guard, checkpoint, or barrier without being detected.

To move or behave secretly, often to hide something from others.

To enter a place quietly and secretly, especially without permission.

To move past a person, guard, or obstacle without being detected.

To inhale something through the nose, either literally or (informally) referring to drug use.

To inform on someone to a person in authority, especially by revealing their wrongdoing.

to take someone or something away quickly and secretly

To remove someone or something from a place quickly and secretly

To secretly watch or gather information about a person or group

To investigate or reconnoitre a place or situation secretly in order to gather useful information

To fire a shot from a gun by carefully squeezing the trigger

To watch a place secretly for a period of time, or to establish and defend a position or claim

To completely eliminate something harmful or unwanted through decisive action

To withdraw from a position of readiness, conflict, or authority.

To keep at a distance from someone or something, or to result in a deadlock between opposing forces.

A military command to take up defensive positions and be fully alert, typically at dawn or dusk.

To hide or store something, especially money or valuables, secretly or for later use

To leave a place quietly and secretly, without being noticed

To enter a place quietly and secretly, without being seen or heard

To protrude upward, to fasten something to a surface, or to rob someone at gunpoint.

To close a wound with sutures, to complete a deal, or (British slang) to cheat or frame someone.

To store something carefully in a space, or to hide on a vehicle to travel without paying.

To cause someone to fall or die with a blow, or (of illness or law) to disable or invalidate something.

To remove someone's name from an official register as a punishment, or to cross an item off a list.

To hang something by suspending it with string or rope, or (informal) to hang a person as punishment.

(Legal, archaic/formal) To petition a court to obtain and issue a writ, injunction, or other legal instrument.

To have great confidence in something and recommend it strongly, based on personal experience; or to take a solemn oath using something as w

To formally admit someone to an official position or role by administering a legal oath.

To obtain a legal warrant or formal complaint by making a sworn statement to the authorities.

To attempt to strike or hit someone or something with a swinging blow; also an old British expression referring to being hanged for a crime.

To remove something from a place, take someone on a date, obtain something officially, or destroy a target.

To mark off an area with tape in order to restrict access or mark boundaries.

To be a disadvantage or point of negative evidence against someone or something.

To steal or remove something secretly and dishonestly; a rare or dialectal variant of 'thieve'.

To secretly warn or inform someone about something, especially something that will give them an advantage or help them prepare.

To equip a factory or workplace with the necessary machinery and tools; also (British slang) to arm oneself or others with weapons.

To apply flame deliberately downward onto a surface, or to burn something down to the ground using a torch.

To make small improvements or repairs to the appearance of something, or informally to inappropriately touch someone.

to find someone or something by following clues or records

to find someone or something after a difficult search

Slang term used in sex work contexts, meaning to perform a sex act for payment.

To invent or fabricate a false accusation, charge, or excuse, typically to harm someone or create a false pretext.

To tie or bind someone or something tightly, securing their limbs so they cannot move; also used in cooking for securing poultry before roas

To submit or hand over something; to report someone to the police or authorities; to go to bed.

To take something, either by winning it easily or by stealing it casually.

To tell someone to stay away or stop doing something, using a warning or threat.

To close one eye briefly at someone as a signal or flirtatious gesture; or figuratively, to knowingly overlook or tolerate something imprope

To extract something or someone with difficulty, especially information from an unwilling person or a person from a secure place.

To send a letter or message to an organization, publication, or broadcaster; or to vote for an unlisted candidate by writing their name.

To give something up or surrender it, often reluctantly or after resistance; to reveal or disclose something hidden.