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to lynch

to lynch

35 9.5
To kill a person by a crowd, usually by hanging, without going to court
  • verb
  • /lɪnʧ/
  • Offensive
translation icon : linchar
  • I seen my own brother lynched, Mr. Carter.
  • lynched by a mob
  • blacks were lynched
  • whites were lynched

That's why when black people were lynched, they were castrated.

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Examples

  • In 1919, seventy-eight blacks were lynched, the majority in urban race riots.

    Academic text (1999)
  • Before his trial began, he was lynched by the Committee.

    Academic text (2001)
  • The crowd nearly lynched him.

  • The president thought he was going to have me lynched the next day.

    Academic text (2011)
  • Had he been cleared, he would probably have been lynched by the hostile mob surrounding the court.

    Academic text (2011)
  • African-American men were lynched, often for allegedly making sexual advances to white women.

    Academic text (2002)
  • In this case, a mob in Bainbridge lynched a farmer named Hollis Riles.

    Academic text (2011)
  • The mob decided to lynch the man they believed was guilty of the crime.

  • Historical records show that dozens of innocent people were lynched due to false accusations.

  • In a terrifying act of violence, the crowd began to lynch anyone suspected of witchcraft.

Synonyms

to burn
vsto lynch
  • NSFW
291 9.9

To kill someone by tying them to a stake and setting them on fire

is done by a mob without trial, usually by hanging rather than fire
to murther
vsto lynch
  • Archaic
9.9

To kill someone on purpose and illegally, used in old writing

is done by a group without any legal trial

Compounds

lynch mob
  • Offensive
13 9.4

A group of people who kill or threaten to kill someone without a trial because of hate

lynch law
  • Offensive
9.9

Illegal punishment by a crowd without a trial, often by hanging

Surface Forms

lynch infinitive
lynched past
lynched past participle
lynching present participle
lynches third person singular

Etymology

The word lynch comes from the phrase Lynch law, and one common story says it was named after a Virginia man called Lynch who in the 1700s punished people without a court trial. So, to lynch someone came to mean killing or punishing them by a mob without a court trial, which is why the word has this violent meaning today.