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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

"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

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.


Example Sentences

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If Jack the Ripper had been identified and the case explained, would Jack be a source of fascination now?

From The Wall Street Journal Jul. 29, 2026

“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

The series takes in a wide range of topics, from unmasking Jack the Ripper, to the day The Beatles came to Hull.

From BBC Dec. 25, 2024

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

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

From "Genuine Fraud" by E. Lockhart

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