habitual criminal
noun
: one convicted of a crime who has a certain number of prior convictions for offenses of a specified kind (as felonies) and is thereby under some statutes subject to an increased penalty (as life imprisonment)
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“Habitual criminal.” Merriam-Webster.com Legal Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/legal/habitual%20criminal. Accessed 4 Nov. 2025.
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