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

“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

In fact, here's a conspiracy theory that would have been right at home in the late 1800s: Lewis Carroll, the author of "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland," was Jack the Ripper.

From Salon • Jul. 24, 2021

A Whitechapel museum dedicated to the notorious Victorian serial killer Jack the Ripper is to be sold at auction.

From BBC • May 1, 2021

Reports from abroad asserted, erroneously, that Jack the Ripper had returned.

From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson