primary offense

noun — 2 senses

primary offense

noun
1

Law The most serious offence of a group of offenses that a person committed at the same time, or is charged with committing at the same time.

2

Law US An offence of such seriousness that a police officer may arrest the person involved, or impose an instant fine.

Entry derived from the Wiktionary, under licence CC BY-SA 4.0 — list of authors.