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

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

Florida Republican lawmakers have been pushing for the repeal of a gun safety law passed after the Parkland massacre in 2018. —Robert Birsel, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 Sep. 2025

Advertisement In the brief India-Pakistan war this summer that followed the massacre of 26 Indian tourists in Kashmir, Pakistani forces used Chinese weaponry. —Shyam Saran, Time, 10 Sep. 2025

Verb

The visitors ended up massacring a village, which left her devastated. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 12 Sep. 2025

Principals told to stop calling police chief There was so much chaos in the minutes after the gunman entered the classrooms and massacred the children and teachers inside that school police chief Arredondo called the district’s communication chief for help. —Matthew J. Friedman, CNN Money, 4 Sep. 2025

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