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
R. G. McCloskeythe Puritan massacre of statues and pictures—Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes
massacred; massacring
ˈma-si-k(ə-)riŋ
1
: to kill by massacre
2
: mangle sense 2
words were misspelled and syntax massacred—Bice Clemow
Bice ClemowExamples 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
Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025
As early as the 1970s, Jordan’s crushing of Palestinian guerrillas prompted the emergence of the Black September organization and the Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes.
—Hussein Agha, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Recently, 200 Christian IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) were massacred in Nigeria.
—Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for massacre
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Noun
The massacre of the people of Gaza continues unabated.
—Chicago Tribune, 27 June 2025
As early as the 1970s, Jordan’s crushing of Palestinian guerrillas prompted the emergence of the Black September organization and the Munich Olympic massacre of Israeli athletes.
—Hussein Agha, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Verb
At the twilight of his career, in 1990, just a few months after the People’s Liberation Army massacred many of the young protesters who had called for change in Tiananmen Square, Xi Zhongxun assumed one of his last titles: co-chairman of the Care for the Next Generation Committee.
—Joseph Torigian, Foreign Affairs, 23 June 2025
Recently, 200 Christian IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) were massacred in Nigeria.
—Nuri Kino, MSNBC Newsweek, 18 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for massacre
Cite this Entry
“Massacre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/massacre. Accessed 14 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationKids Definition
massacre
1 of 2 verb
mas·sa·cre
ˈmas-i-kər
massacred; massacring
-k(ə-)riŋ
: to kill in a massacre : slaughter
massacrer
noun
-i-kər-ər
-i-krər
massacre
2 of 2 noun
: the violent and cruel killing of a number of persons
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