Ku Klux Klan

noun

ˈkü-ˈkləks-ˈklan 

also ˈkyü-

or ˈklü-

1

: a violent secret fraternal society founded in 1915 in Georgia to maintain white Protestant cultural and political power

also : any one of more than 20 hate (see hate entry 1 sense 1c) groups that associate themselves with the Ku Klux Klan

2

: a violent post-Civil War secret society founded in Tennessee in 1866 to upend the Black political and social power that was being established during Reconstruction

Note: This Ku Klux Klan had largely dissolved by the end of the 1870s.

Examples of Ku Klux Klan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That act – passed in the wake of a wave of terror by government workers affiliated with racist groups like the Ku Klux Klan – does not apply to federal employees and could not be used in a case against Ross. —Andy Rose, CNN Money, 25 Jan. 2026

One of the major ironies out of the Minnesota anti-ICE attack on a Baptist church last week is that former CNN host Don Lemon, one of the participants, is being investigated under the Ku Klux Klan Act. —Peter Lucas, Boston Herald, 24 Jan. 2026

The vandalism also came a day after an arson attack at a Mississippi synagogue that had been bombed by the Ku Klux Klan in 1967 in retaliation for the rabbi’s involvement with civil rights activism. —Jackie Hajdenberg, Sun Sentinel, 20 Jan. 2026

Liuzzo’s car was intercepted by one carrying four men associated with the Ku Klux Klan. —Jelani Cobb, New Yorker, 19 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for Ku Klux Klan

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan