white supremacy

noun

1

: the belief that the white race is inherently superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races

The alt-right is a reactionary conservative movement. … It is characterized by an embrace of fascism, white supremacy, and misogyny …

—Constance Grady

2

: the social, economic, and political systems that collectively enable white people to maintain power over people of other races

… [William] Kelley turned his considerable intellect and imagination to the question of what it is like to be white in this country, and what it is like, for all Americans, to live under the conditions of white supremacy …

—Kathryn Schulz

Examples of white supremacy in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

White listeners and white supremacy are always ripe for a dressing down, but there’s no teeth or edge to his provocations anymore. —Dylan Green, Pitchfork, 29 May 2026

While some plaintiffs who took the bait may have been only grossly ignorant, certainly some were guilty of bad faith, anti-Blackness, and opportunistic collaboration with white supremacy. —Literary Hub, 21 May 2026

Emphasizing extremism as an online vibe may also serve to draw nonwhite people to white supremacy. —Ali Breland, The Atlantic, 20 May 2026

The Justice Department is focusing on how the SPLC secretly paid informants working inside the Ku Klux Klan and other organizations the SPLC viewed as white supremacy and hate groups. —Beth Gazley, The Conversation, 24 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1824, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

white supremacy

noun

: the belief that the white race is superior to other races and that white people should have control over people of other races

white supremacist noun