offence
UK (US offense) /əˈfens/ nounDefinition
› [C] LAW an illegal act or crime: It is a criminal offence to mislead customers about the price of an item. a serious/major/minor offencebe/become an offence It became an offence for British citizens to offer bribes for business contracts anywhere in the world.commit an offence In practising as a solicitor without being duly qualified, he committed an offence.be accused of/found guilty of/convicted of an offence She was convicted of drug offences.
› [U] feelings of being upset and angry, often because someone has been rude: This advertisement may cause offence in some markets. She took offence at the way the assistant spoke to her.
a sackable/sacking offence UK (US a firing offense) › HR a wrong action that you can lose your job for: Drinking alcohol while on duty is a sackable offence.
(Definition of offence noun from the Cambridge Business English Dictionary
© Cambridge University Press)
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