1
2
: an upright post with a projecting arm for hanging the bodies of executed criminals as a warning
gibbeted; gibbeting; gibbets
1
a
: to expose to infamy or public scorn
b
: to hang on a gibbet
2
: to execute by hanging on a gibbet
Examples of gibbet in a Sentence
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Tom Shippey, WSJ, 14 Jan. 2022
Over 1,000 angry citizens rampaged the city; within days, hundreds were arrested and more than a dozen were executed, their bodies displayed on gibbets.
—Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 1 May 2017
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Noun
Once again there are gibbet cages and skull racks on display at Tyburn, but the medieval barbarity is compounded by entirely modern displays of wealth and power, their effects felt all the way up and down the social scale.
—Tom Shippey, WSJ, 14 Jan. 2022
Over 1,000 angry citizens rampaged the city; within days, hundreds were arrested and more than a dozen were executed, their bodies displayed on gibbets.
—Lorraine Boissoneault, Smithsonian, 1 May 2017
Cite this Entry
“Gibbet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/gibbet. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
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