lynch

[ linch ]
See synonyms for lynch on Thesaurus.com
verb (used with object)
  1. to put to death, especially by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority: In the 19th and 20th centuries, thousands of southern African Americans were lynched by white mobs.

  2. to criticize, condemn, etc., in public: He’s been unfairly lynched in the media.

Origin of lynch

1
An Americanism first recorded in 1825–35; verb use of lynch in lynch law

synonym study For lynch

See hang.

Other words from lynch

  • lynch·er, noun
  • an·ti·lynch·ing, adjective

Words that may be confused with lynch

Other definitions for Lynch (2 of 2)

Lynch
[ linch ]

noun
  1. John "Jack", 1917–1999, Irish political leader: prime minister 1966–73, 1977–79.

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use lynch in a sentence

  • Talpers played heavily on the lynching, because he knew the fear of the mob had become an obsession with McFann.

    Mystery Ranch | Arthur Chapman
  • The white man who has been restored to absolute power so as to establish social ostracism, segregation and lynching is a success.

  • Indians, as a rule, have great self-control, but this sight so stirred them that there was very nearly a lynching.

    Algonquin Indian Tales | Egerton R. Young
  • This man told me that no lynching would ever have taken place had it not been for the uncertainty of the law.

  • Of all the States, Georgia had the worst record for lynching.

    The Soul of John Brown | Stephen Graham

British Dictionary definitions for lynch (1 of 2)

lynch

/ (lɪntʃ) /


verb
  1. (tr) (of a mob) to punish (a person) for some supposed offence by hanging without a trial

Origin of lynch

1
probably after Charles Lynch (1736–96), Virginia justice of the peace, who presided over extralegal trials of Tories during the American War of Independence

Derived forms of lynch

  • lyncher, noun
  • lynching, noun

British Dictionary definitions for Lynch (2 of 2)

Lynch

/ (lɪntʃ) /


noun
  1. David. born 1946, US film director; his work includes the films Eraserhead (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006), and the television series Twin Peaks (1990)

  2. John, known as Jack Lynch. 1917–99, Irish statesman; prime minister of the Republic of Ireland (1966–73; 1977–79)

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012