Ku Klux Klan

noun

ˈkü-ˈkləks-ˈklan 

also ˈkyü-

or ˈklü-

1

: a violent secret fraternal society founded in 1915 in Georgia to maintain white Protestant cultural and political power

also : any one of more than 20 hate (see hate entry 1 sense 1c) groups that associate themselves with the Ku Klux Klan

2

: a violent post-Civil War secret society founded in Tennessee in 1866 to upend the Black political and social power that was being established during Reconstruction

Note: This Ku Klux Klan had largely dissolved by the end of the 1870s.

Examples of Ku Klux Klan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Piedmont Police Chief Burton Becker — a high-ranking Ku Klux Klan member, according to the Piedmont Historical Society — refused to interfere. —Chase Hunter, Mercury News, 17 Feb. 2026

The Ku Klux Klan maintained a shadowy presence in Hanceville well into the second half of the 20th century; KKK meetings took place in some homes and hideaways here as recently as the 1980s. —Rob Picheta, CNN Money, 7 Feb. 2026

Its displays included a Ku Klux Klan hood. —Shaddi Abusaid, AJC.com, 7 Feb. 2026

Congress passed this law — Section 1983 — six years after the end of the Civil War as part of the Civil Rights Act of 1871, also known as the Ku Klux Klan Act. —Brian Kolp, Chicago Tribune, 4 Feb. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for Ku Klux Klan

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan