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

But like everything else emerging from white supremacy, there is nothing rational about the ideas behind the whitelash. —Sandy Hudson, refinery29.com, 9 July 2025

Texas and other states leveraged this principle to resist enforcing equal rights, employing legal maneuvers, intimidation, and violence to maintain white supremacy. —Ed Gaskin, Boston Herald, 18 June 2025

Historians say the Lost Cause reinforced white supremacy in public spaces and was used to scare Black Americans from fighting segregation or seeking racial equality. —Russell Contreras, Axios, 30 Mar. 2025

That impact can be seen through laws and policies that sought to maintain the status quo of white supremacy. —Willie Wilson, Chicago Tribune, 19 June 2025

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