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

The Ku Klux Klan maintained a shadowy presence in Hanceville well into the second half of the 20th century; KKK meetings took place in some homes and hideaways here as recently as the 1980s. —Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026

Its displays included a Ku Klux Klan hood. —Shaddi Abusaid, AJC.com, 7 Feb. 2026

Congress passed this law — Section 1983 — six years after the end of the Civil War as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. —Brian Kolp, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 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

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