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 sole plaintiff alleges the public and private parties violated the Ku Klux Klan Act, a federal law created in 1871 to combat the white supremacist group during the Reconstruction Era following the American Civil War. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 14 July 2026

Prosecutors said some of the money was used for recruiting new members and purchasing Ku Klux Klan robes and materials for cross-burning ceremonies. — ABC News, 7 July 2026

When the Ku Klux Klan burned crosses on the lawn of other beach neighbors, the only Jewish family in town, my dad tracked down the local Klan leader and told him to back off, or else. — Maureen Dowd, Mercury News, 4 July 2026

An informant for the FBI quickly identified members of the Ku Klux Klan as her killers. — Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 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