ENGLISH
REFERENCE

rap sheet

n. countable
C1 Advanced
Definition

n. a list of all the crimes a person has been caught for in the past. You usually hear this in movies or news stories about police and criminals.

n. an official record maintained by law enforcement listing a person's criminal history and prior arrests. Informal in register; derived from the acronym 'Record of Arrests and Prosecutions'.


SIMPLE

The suspect has a long rap sheet for petty theft.

CONTEXTUAL

The detective reviewed the suspect's rap sheet and noticed several previous arrests for similar white-collar crimes.

COMPLEX

While the candidate's professional resume is impressive, a lengthy rap sheet from his youth continues to haunt his public image during the election cycle.

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