From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishmisdemeanourmis‧de‧mea‧nour British English, misdemeanor American English /ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə $ -ər/ noun [countable] 1 formalBAD BEHAVIOUR OR ACTIONS a bad or unacceptable action that is not very serious Alfred beat his children for even the smallest misdemeanour.2 lawSCCCRIME a crime that is not very serious → felony
Examples from the Corpus
misdemeanour• A misdemeanour has been committed but the offender has not been caught.• A typical drunk-driving misdemeanour, it said in my paper.• The public eye, too, is alert for misdemeanour in this situation above all others.• Exxon subsequently withdrew guilty pleas to four misdemeanour charges relating to the spill, thereby formally dissolving the out of court settlement.• It was evidently widely felt that its representatives were capable of more or less any form of major misdemeanour.• Two days later, we all suffered again for one person's misdemeanour.• On another occasion a relatively small misdemeanour proved unforgivable.From Longman Business Dictionarymisdemeanourmis‧de‧mea‧nour /ˌmɪsdɪˈmiːnə-ər/ British English, misdemeanor American English noun [countable]1a bad or unacceptable action that is not very serious, at least from a legal point of view2American EnglishLAW a crime that is not as serious as a FELONY (=very serious crime such as robbery or murder)He pleaded guilty to lying on a loan application, which is a misdemeanor in this state. 