electric chair
noun
1
: a chair used in legal electrocution
2
: the penalty of death by electrocution
Examples of electric chair in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
It was stopped after the electric chair at the Louisiana State Penitentiary at Angola was retired in 1990 in favor of lethal injection.
—
Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
Some states began refurbishing electric chairs as standbys for when lethal drugs are unavailable.
—CBS News, 25 Mar. 2023
The wooden electric chair where he was put to death.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
The first electrocution in 1890 was botched when executioners struggled to regulate the electric chair, and caused William Kemmler’s hair and skin to burn, an effect repeated in executions as late as the 1990s, Denno wrote.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024
The story begins with the main character Nail Chism being led to the electric chair for the rape of a thirteen-year-old girl in his hometown of Staymore, AR.
—Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2024
Jurors in the original sentencing, which took place in 2000, opted to send Ault to the electric chair.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024
Divine was very nervous, walking in drag and carrying an electric chair across the yards of the Maryland prison.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2023
There, behind a discreet barrier, was the electric chair.
—Annalisa Quinn, BostonGlobe.com, 5 July 2023
Erik Ortiz, NBC News, 29 Feb. 2024
Some states began refurbishing electric chairs as standbys for when lethal drugs are unavailable.
—CBS News, 25 Mar. 2023
The wooden electric chair where he was put to death.
—Tracey Tully, New York Times, 5 Mar. 2024
The first electrocution in 1890 was botched when executioners struggled to regulate the electric chair, and caused William Kemmler’s hair and skin to burn, an effect repeated in executions as late as the 1990s, Denno wrote.
—Jeanine Santucci, USA TODAY, 25 Jan. 2024
The story begins with the main character Nail Chism being led to the electric chair for the rape of a thirteen-year-old girl in his hometown of Staymore, AR.
—Janet B. Carson, arkansasonline.com, 26 Feb. 2024
Jurors in the original sentencing, which took place in 2000, opted to send Ault to the electric chair.
—Grethel Aguila, Miami Herald, 22 Feb. 2024
Divine was very nervous, walking in drag and carrying an electric chair across the yards of the Maryland prison.
—Michael Schulman, The New Yorker, 17 Sep. 2023
There, behind a discreet barrier, was the electric chair.
—Annalisa Quinn, BostonGlobe.com, 5 July 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'electric chair.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near electric chair
Cite this Entry
“Electric chair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electric%20chair. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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