lynch

verb

lynched; lynching; lynches

transitive verb

: to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal approval or permission
The accused killer was lynched by an angry mob.
lyncher noun

Examples of lynch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
The soil from the site of Will Archer’s lynching in Carrollton, Alabama, on September 14, 1893, was cinnamon-red and gravelly. Clint Smith, The Atlantic, 19 Jan. 2026 On December 18, Dipu Chandra Das, a 27-year-old Hindu garment worker in Bangladesh, was beaten, hanged from a tree, and burned alive in a mob lynching. Colin Millar, New York Times, 16 Jan. 2026 Several days later, the teenager was kidnapped from his relative's home in the middle of the night, and he was beaten and lynched. Angela Andaloro, PEOPLE, 30 Dec. 2025 As such acts of vigilantism began to threaten the profits of landowners and industrialists, nightriding was prosecuted by state and local authorities -- at least more so than other forms of violent vigilantism, such as lynching. Arkansas Online, 20 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for lynch

Word History

Etymology

after lynch law

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of lynch was in 1835

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Lynch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lynch. Accessed 27 Jan. 2026.

Kids Definition

lynch

verb
: to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal authority
lyncher noun

Legal Definition

lynch

transitive verb
: to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal sanction
lyncher noun

More from Merriam-Webster on lynch

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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