Louis XVI was beheaded in 1793.
Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded for plotting against Queen Elizabeth.
Recent Examples on the WebThe twist of the knife that unleashes Sienna's retributive fury is a revelation that the gruesome pair killed, beheaded, and seemingly stripped the flesh from Jonathan's skull.
Want more movie news?—EW.com, 17 Oct. 2024 The same month, Kennedy’s daughter Kick recounted a story about her father beheading a dead whale and strapping it to the top of his minivan for a five-hour drive.—Emma Specter, Vogue, 23 Sep. 2024 Anastasiou allegedly threatened to assassinate, kidnap, torture, hang, behead and execute the justices, and encouraged other people to join him in committing acts of violence, the Justice Department said.—Melissa Quinn, CBS News, 19 Sep. 2024 Brandy’s Cinderella is back and nearly beheaded in Descendants: The Rise of Red trailer
There's plenty of new magic, too, as Billie scrambles an egg and makes someone invisible.—Raechal Shewfelt, EW.com, 10 Aug. 2024 The Conciergerie is a former prison and residence of French kings during the French Revolution and is where Antoinette was held before she was beheaded in 1793.—Kathryn Gregory, The Courier-Journal, 27 July 2024 The 18-foot-tall bronze monument to women and justice was beheaded in the early morning on July 8 while the campus was experiencing harsh weather and power outages due to Hurricane Beryl.—Karen K. Ho, ARTnews.com, 9 July 2024 The foundation was created by Diane Foley less than a month after her son, James Foley, an American freelance journalist, was beheaded by ISIS in Syria in 2014.—Chris Kenning, USA TODAY, 2 Aug. 2024 In July, Witness was beheaded at the University of Houston.—Alex Greenberger, ARTnews.com, 31 July 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'behead.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
First Known Use
before the 12th century, in the meaning defined above
Time Traveler
The first known use of behead was
before the 12th century
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