massacre

1 of 2

noun

mas·sa·cre ˈma-si-kər

: the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty

witnessed the massacre of a boatload of refugees

: a cruel or wanton (see wanton entry 1 sense 1a) murder

: a wholesale slaughter of animals

Residents engaged in a citywide cat massacre.

: an act of complete destruction

the author's massacre of traditional federalist presuppositions—

R. G. McCloskey

the Puritan massacre of statues and pictures—

Robert Hughes

massacre

2 of 2

verb

massacred; massacring ˈma-si-k(ə-)riŋ

transitive verb

: to kill by massacre

: mangle sense 2

words were misspelled and syntax massacred—

Bice Clemow

massacrer

ˈma-si-kər-ər

-krər

noun

Example Sentences

Noun The game turned out to be a complete massacre. the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota Verb Hundreds have been massacred in the uprising. The other team really massacred us on Saturday. He really massacred that song.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

That audience member was Manuel Oliver, whose son was murdered in the 2018 Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School massacre in Parkland, Florida, Reuters reported. —

Molly Stellino, USA TODAY, 30 Jan. 2023 Manuel and Patricia Oliver became advocates for tighter gun regulations after losing their 17-year-old son Joaquin in the 2018 massacre at the Parkland high school. —

Brendan Farrington, ajc, 30 Jan. 2023 There was the 2018 Pittsburgh synagogue massacre where a gunman killed 11 congregants. —

Jose R. Gonzalez, The Arizona Republic, 24 Dec. 2022 Wagner was convicted last month on eight counts of aggravated murder and other charges related to conspiracy and attempts to cover up evidence in the 2016 massacre of the Rhoden family. —

David K. Li, NBC News, 19 Dec. 2022 The shooting rekindled memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. —

Thomas Peipert And Jesse Bedayn, The Christian Science Monitor, 21 Nov. 2022 The shooting rekindled memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. —

Jesse Bedayn, BostonGlobe.com, 21 Nov. 2022 The shooting rekindled memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. —

CBS News, 21 Nov. 2022 The shooting rekindled memories of the 2016 massacre at the Pulse gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, that killed 49 people. —

Thomas Peipert And Jesse Bedayn, Anchorage Daily News, 21 Nov. 2022

Verb

Tarantino fans will recall that the Kill Bill church is where Bill (David Carradine) sent a hit squad to massacre the Bride/Beatrix's (Uma Thurman) wedding party — though she was left in a coma and ultimately came back with a vengeance. —

Jolie Lash, EW.com, 23 Aug. 2021 Because resources were so scarce in those early days of Cordyceps, FEDRA soldiers would simply massacre anyone that the quarantine zones did not have room for, to prevent them from becoming infected. —

Alan Sepinwall, Rolling Stone, 29 Jan. 2023 When soldiers are transporting him, Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) storm the train, bust Buck out and massacre almost all the troops on board. —

Bill Goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, 22 Oct. 2021 When soldiers are transporting him, Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) storm the train, bust Buck out and massacre almost all the troops on board. —

Bill Goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, 22 Oct. 2021 Twice, in 1993 and then again after the Sandy Hook massacre a decade ago, the General Assembly has passed laws banning the sale of certain military-style weapons, most notably the AR-15 and its many variations. —

Mark Pazniokas, Hartford Courant, 9 Dec. 2022 When soldiers are transporting him, Trudy Smith (Regina King) and Cherokee Bill (LaKeith Stanfield) storm the train, bust Buck out and massacre almost all the troops on board. —

Bill Goodykoontz, Detroit Free Press, 22 Oct. 2021 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'massacre.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.