massacre

1 of 2

noun

mas·​sa·​cre ˈma-si-kər 

1

: the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty

witnessed the massacre of a boatload of refugees

2

: a cruel or wanton (see wanton entry 1 sense 1a) murder

3

: a wholesale slaughter of animals

Residents engaged in a citywide cat massacre.

4

: an act of complete destruction

the author's massacre of traditional federalist presuppositions

—R. G. McCloskey

the Puritan massacre of statues and pictures

—Robert Hughes

massacre

2 of 2

verb

massacred; massacring ˈma-si-k(ə-)riŋ 

transitive verb

1

: to kill by massacre

2

: mangle sense 2

words were misspelled and syntax massacred

—Bice Clemow

massacrer

ˈma-si-kər-ər 

-krər

noun

Synonyms

Noun

• bloodbath
• butchery
• carnage
• death
• holocaust
• slaughter

Verb

• butcher
• mow (down)
• slaughter

Examples of massacre in a Sentence

Noun

The game turned out to be a complete massacre.

the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota

Verb

Hundreds have been massacred in the uprising.

The other team really massacred us on Saturday.

He really massacred that song.

Recent Examples on the Web

Noun

The campaign’s timing, however, struck a sensitive chord due to its timing with the 42nd anniversary of the Munich massacre, where Palestinian militants in the Black September group killed 11 Israeli athletes and coaches in a saga that lasted 20 hours. —Asia Moore, Los Angeles Times, 22 July 2024

Munich massacre – 1972 Summer Olympics The political debate by some Middle Eastern countries over Israel’s right to exist has also been an issue at several Olympics. —Jack Birle, Washington Examiner - Political News and Conservative Analysis About Congress, the President, and the Federal Government, 21 July 2024

Verb

As for the first issue, the Wayne National Forest is named after Revolutionary War Maj. Gen. Anthony Wayne who battled and massacred Indigenous peoples in Ohio. —Frank Vaisvilas, Journal Sentinel, 23 July 2024

Never before have so many of them been massacred and taken hostage on a single day. —Tom Segev, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun and Verb

Middle French

First Known Use

Noun

circa 1578, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Verb

1581, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

massacre

1 of 2 verb

mas·​sa·​cre ˈmas-i-kər 

massacred; massacring

-k(ə-)riŋ

: to kill in a massacre : slaughter

massacrer

-i-kər-ər

-i-krər

noun

massacre

2 of 2 noun

: the violent and cruel killing of a number of persons