massacre

1 of 2

noun

mas·​sa·​cre ˈma-si-kər 

1

: 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

2

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

3

: a wholesale slaughter of animals

Residents engaged in a citywide cat massacre.

4

: 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

1

: to kill by massacre

2

: mangle sense 2

… words were misspelled and syntax massacred.

—Bice Clemow

massacrer

ˈma-si-kər-ər 

-krər

noun

Synonyms of massacre

Noun

• slaughter

Verb

• slaughter

Examples of massacre in a Sentence

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

Smiley Martin died in 2024 in Sacramento County Main Jail awaiting trial in the massacre. — Darrell Smith, Sacbee.com, 19 June 2026

Six years later, 49 people were killed and and more than 50 were injured on June 12, 2016, in the Orlando, Florida, massacre at Pulse, a nightclub popular with LGBTQ+ men of color. — Jay Stahl, USA Today, 16 June 2026

Verb

At least 100,000 Poles were massacred by the UPA. — Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 20 June 2026

President Karol Nawrocki decided to strip Zelensky of the Order of the White Eagle over the Ukrainian leader’s decision to name a military unit after a Ukrainian paramilitary organization accused of massacring Poles during World War II. — Claudia Ciobanu, Los Angeles Times, 20 June 2026

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle French

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

massacre

1 of 2 verb

mas·​sa·​cre ˈmas-i-kər 

massacred; massacring

-k(ə-)riŋ

: to kill in a massacre : slaughter

massacrer

-i-kər-ər, 

-i-krər

noun

massacre

2 of 2 noun

: the violent and cruel killing of a number of persons