night rider

noun

: a member of a secret band who ride masked at night doing acts of violence for the purpose of punishing or terrorizing

Examples of night rider in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web By the end of the school year, pretty much every item in the apparatus of Southern civil-rights resistance had made an appearance in Clinton, from anti-Black slurs and heckling to cross burnings, bombings, and Ku Klux Klan night riders. Louis Menand, The New Yorker, 31 July 2023 Have things really changed all that much since the days of Jim Crow and the night riders? Michele Langevine Leiby, chicagotribune.com, 17 July 2019 The White Caps were a band of hooded or masked night riders that used whips, guns and rope on their victims. Indystar, Indianapolis Star, 20 Feb. 2014

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'night rider.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1856, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of night rider was in 1856

Dictionary Entries Near night rider

Cite this Entry

“Night rider.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/night%20rider. Accessed 7 Oct. 2024.

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