Black Lives Matter

noun

: a movement founded in 2013 to end white supremacy and support Black communities

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 BLM

Examples of Black Lives Matter in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), designated as a terror group in Florida and Texas, has endorsed the event, along with Black Lives Matter Detroit and the LA Tenants Union. —Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 30 Jan. 2026

The Black Lives Matter movement received multimillion-dollar donations from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and Cisco CEO Chuck Robbins. —Lola Murti,jennifer Elias, CNBC, 26 Jan. 2026

Prosecutors want a federal judge to send Boston Black Lives Matter charity fraudster Monica Cannon-Grant to prison for a year and a half, while her attorney argues for probation. —Flint McColgan, Boston Herald, 25 Jan. 2026

Black Lives Matter Grassroots, a national hub for local BLM chapters, on Friday expressed gratitude for those activists. —Los Angeles Times, 23 Jan. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

2014, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for Black Lives Matter

• antimatter
• atter
• batter
• blatter
• catarrh
• chatter
• clatter
• fatter
• flatter
• hatter
• latter
• natter