Jack the Ripper

British  

noun

1. an unidentified murderer who killed at least seven prostitutes in London's East End between August and November 1888

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Jack the Ripper Cultural  

1. A criminal in London in the late nineteenth century apparently responsible for several ghastly murders by slashing. His identity is unknown.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Jack the Ripper

“Smog” is a turn-of-the-century portmanteau word mashing together “smoke” and “fog” to describe the sooty, sulfurous air of the London of Sherlock Holmes and Jack the Ripper.

From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 26, 2026

He was Jack the Ripper in “Time After Time” in 1979; two years later, in “Time Bandits,” his character was named simply Evil Genius.

From New York Times ● Jul. 25, 2022

This Netflix original series chronicles the turbulent investigation, which bore striking similarities to that of the infamous serial killer, Jack the Ripper, who committed a killing spree in London in 1888.

From Salon ● Dec. 5, 2020

During his career, Frank Windsor reprised the role of John Watt in 1973 to reopen the Jack the Ripper murder investigations alongside fellow Z Cars character Charlie Barlow, played by Stafford Johns.

From BBC ● Oct. 2, 2020

“No one even knows who Jack the Ripper really was.”

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart