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

Just before the Fourth of July in 2019, the Southern Poverty Law Center demonstrated how extremist groups have long adopted symbols of U.S. history to promote white supremacy. —Art Jipson, The Conversation, 17 Apr. 2025

The stakes of these discussions—which have involved charges of Eurocentrism, head-in-the-sand elitism, even white supremacy—have at times felt existential, given many institutions’ financial straits. —Matthew Aucoin, The Atlantic, 15 Apr. 2025

The manosphere also has ties to white supremacy, anti-LGBTQ rhetoric and antisemitism. —Rachel Hale, USA Today, 18 Apr. 2025

These actions, along with Trump’s efforts to eliminate the Department of Education, silence universities, and punish law firms will strengthen the GOP’s control over our nation’s narratives, eliminate perspectives that challenge white supremacy, and reinforce a singular, exclusionary worldview. —Jameelah Nasheed, Essence, 1 Apr. 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