hangman

American  

[hang-muhn, hang-man] / ˈhæŋ mən, ˈhæŋˌmæn /

noun

plural

hangmen

1. a person who hangs criminals who are condemned to death; public executioner.

2. a word game in which one player selects a word that the other player must guess by supplying each of its letters: for each incorrect guess a part of a stick figure of a man who has been hanged is drawn.

---

hangman British  

/ ˈhæŋmən /

noun

1. an official who carries out a sentence of hanging on condemned criminals

---

Other Word Forms

• underhangman noun

Etymology

Origin of hangman

Middle English word dating back to 1350–1400; hang, man

Example Sentences

When Merv Griffin created “Wheel of Fortune” in 1975 as television’s answer to hangman, it spent its early years on ratings life support.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Even the widely despised Chun escaped the hangman.

From Washington Times • Apr. 10, 2023

Organizers tried getting students who might feel bashful online to at least try a game of hangman or charades.

From Washington Post • Apr. 23, 2021

The Good Lord Bird opens with Brown climbing a scaffold and, right before the hangman puts a hood over his head, saying, “What a beautiful country.”

From Slate • Oct. 4, 2020

The paper was covered in her work trying to decode it, which looked like a bunch of unfinished hangman games minus the hanging men.

From "Book Scavenger" by Jennifer Chambliss Bertman