An act or omission that violates the law and is punishable by a sentence of incarceration. See also felony, misdemeanor,offense, and violation. anticipatory crime. See inchoate crime. bias crime.See hate crime. common-law crime. An offense that was a crime under the common law. Nearly all crimes, including offenses that were common-law crimes, are now defined by statute and are, thus, statutory crimes. Also, most states no longer recognize commonlaw crimes. computer crime. A crime, such as co...