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

An informant for the FBI quickly identified members of the Ku Klux Klan as her killers. — Gary Fields, Los Angeles Times, 29 June 2026

In response, Congress expanded federal power by enacting the Ku Klux Klan Acts of 1870 and 1871. — Joel B. Rudin, New York Daily News, 28 June 2026

Rummel found newspaper clippings about the Ku Klux Klan terrorizing, kidnapping, and warning African Americans to stay in line or be dealt with. — Kamal Morgan, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 24 June 2026

The film, directed by Elegance Bratton, sees Wahlberg's Scarpa and Yahya Abdul-Mateen II's FBI agent Wayne Strider team up to investigate the murders of civil rights leaders in 1960s Mississippi — and fight members of the Ku Klux Klan (KKK). — Tiffany Kelly, Entertainment Weekly, 1 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