Black Lives Matter
noun
Note: Black Lives Matter was founded by Black community organizers Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges relating to his fatal shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012; the movement expanded as people reacted to police killings of unarmed Black people in years following. The name Black Lives Matter functions as a declaration that Black people's lives have as much value as white people's lives, and as a call to end systems and practices that challenge this fact.
—abbreviation BLMExamples of Black Lives Matter in a Sentence
Sughnen Yongo, Forbes.com, 1 July 2025
The past four decades have seen the sweep of the AIDS crisis, 9/11, numerous wars and recessions, the legalization of homosexuality in some countries, Black Lives Matter, #MeToo, and the global rise of the far right.
—Ritesh Mehta, IndieWire, 27 June 2025
Just five years ago, when Juneteenth became a federal holiday in the wake of Black Lives Matter protests, the same entities were posting black squares on Instagram and vowing to fight inequality.
—Essence, 24 June 2025
The Black Lives Matter movement that had begun in Ferguson moved back onto the streets.
—Maris Kreizman, Rolling Stone, 24 June 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Black Lives Matter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Black%20Lives%20Matter. Accessed 8 Jul. 2025.
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