Black Panther

American  

[blak pan-ther] / ˈblæk ˈpæn θər /

noun

1. a member of a militant African American organization Black Panther party active in the 1960s and early 1970s, formed to work for the advancement of the rights of Black people, often by radical means.

---

Black Panther British  

noun

1. (in the US) a member of a militant Black political party founded in 1965 to end the political dominance of White people

---

Etymology

Origin of Black Panther

First recorded in 1960–65; the party was founded in Oakland, California, by political activists Huey P. Newton (1942–89) and Bobby Seale (born 1936), who modeled it on the Lowndes County Freedom Organization, an activist group in Alabama that had adopted a black panther as its symbol

Example Sentences

Upcoming projects include the third "Black Panther" film and a new cinematic take on "The X-Files," the 1990s hit sci-fi show about FBI agents investigating the unknown.

From Barron's • Mar. 16, 2026

Ryan Coogler, previously best known for "Black Panther," could become the first ever Black person to win best director, in the 98 years of Oscars history.

From Barron's • Mar. 15, 2026

The last time this animal-element combo occurred, the Vietnam War was escalating, the civil rights movement was at a crossroads and the Black Panther Party was created.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 22, 2026

The move irritated some members of the Black Panther organisation, who in the 1960s had used the term to describe an alliance between activists groups in Chicago.

From BBC • Feb. 17, 2026

Afros today are rare, dashikis even rarer; Black Panther founder Bobby Seale is best known today for peddling a line of barbecue products.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt