lynch

verb

ˈlinch 

lynched; lynching; lynches

transitive verb

: to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal approval or permission

The accused killer was lynched by an angry mob.

lyncher noun

Examples of lynch in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In 1892, President Benjamin Harrison declared Columbus Day a one-time national celebration as part of a wider effort to ease diplomatic relations with Italy, following a mob lynching of 11 Italian immigrants in New Orleans. — Matthew Ablon, CBS News, 12 Oct. 2026

Fishback told a Black man during a campaign-trail argument that he should be lynched. — Miami Herald, 10 Oct. 2026

The last public execution in the United States occurred in 1936 in Owensboro, Kentucky, where a black man named Rainey Bethea was lynched before a crowd of roughly 20,000 people. — David Zimmermann, The Washington Examiner, 8 Oct. 2026

These women pressured local judges and sheriffs, and would actively show up to courthouses, protecting potential lynching victims with thier own bodies. — Literary Hub, 2 Oct. 2026

Word History

Etymology

after lynch law

First Known Use

1835, in the meaning defined above

Phrases Containing lynch

• lynch law
• lynch mob

Rhymes for lynch

• cinch
• finch
• flinch
• inch
• pinch
• synch
• winch
• bullfinch
• goldfinch

Kids Definition

lynch

verb

ˈlinch 

: to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal authority

lyncher noun

Legal Definition

lynch

transitive verb

ˈlinch 

: to put to death (as by hanging) by mob action without legal sanction

lyncher noun