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

And the Ku Klux Klan, though diminished from its earlier power, had not disappeared. — Alaa Elassar, CNN Money, 25 Aug. 2026

The event comes nearly a week after anti-Muslim protesters gathered outside a Dearborn City Council meeting and Ku Klux Klan recruitment flyers were found in nearby communities. — Hannah McIlree, CBS News, 25 Aug. 2026

An entire section dedicated to American prejudice included anti-Japanese signage and a Ku Klux Klan hood. — Julian Lucas, New Yorker, 20 Aug. 2026

On that Sunday morning, members of the Ku Klux Klan, a white supremacist group, planted dynamite on the east side of the brown brick building. — Jason Wollschleger, The Conversation, 19 Aug. 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