Jim Crow

or jim crow

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See synonyms for Jim Crow on Thesaurus.com

noun

a practice or policy of segregating or discriminating against Black people, as in public places, public vehicles, or employment.

Disparaging and Offensive. a contemptuous term used to refer to a Black person.

adjective Sometimes Jim-Crow .

favoring or supporting a segregationist or discriminatory policy of Jim Crow.

for Black people only: a Jim Crow school.

QUIZ

THINGAMABOB OR THINGUMMY: CAN YOU DISTINGUISH BETWEEN THE US AND UK TERMS IN THIS QUIZ?

Do you know the difference between everyday US and UK terminology? Test yourself with this quiz on words that differ across the Atlantic.

Question 1 of 7

In the UK, COTTON CANDY is more commonly known as…

candystring

candyfloss

candypuff

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Origin of Jim Crow

An Americanism dating back to 1830–40; so called from the name of a song sung by Thomas Rice (1808–60) in a minstrel show

Words nearby Jim Crow

Jilolo, Jilong, jilt, jilted, Jim, Jim Crow, Jim Crowism, Jim Crow law, jim-dandy, jim dash, Jiménez

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

How to use Jim Crow in a sentence

This mass incarceration is destroying the Black community -- it is, as Michelle Alexander writes, the New Jim Crow.
We Need More Ferguson-style Grand Juries|Kaimipono Wenger|November 30, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Thus, during Jim Crow, black men were routinely hanged, castrated, and lynched for alleged sexual assaults against white women.
No Wonder Cosby's Keeping Quiet: He Could Still Be Prosecuted|Jay Michaelson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Each working in its own way was essential to ending Jim Crow in the South.
Honoring The Late John Doar, A Nearly Forgotten Hero Of The Civil Rights Era|Gary May|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Slowly, still falteringly but inexorably, Jim Crow justice was disappearing in the South.
Honoring The Late John Doar, A Nearly Forgotten Hero Of The Civil Rights Era|Gary May|November 15, 2014|DAILY BEAST

America has obviously made tremendous progress since the days of Jim Crow, Bull Connor, and voter intimidation at the polls.
There's No Such Thing as 'Black America'|Ron Christie|August 27, 2014|DAILY BEAST
She has about as much intention of eloping with him as a little girl might have of eloping with a pasteboard Jim Crow.
Confidence|Henry James
If you were to have a frank explanation with her, Blanche would very soon throw Jim Crow out of the window.
Confidence|Henry James
Then—quick as a wink—there was another loud noise, just like that day when Jim Crow fell in the cornfield.
Seven O'Clock Stories|Robert Gordon Anderson
From the Jim Crow a drowsy porcupine trundled away bristling.
Blazed Trail Stories|Stewart Edward White
No air was ever at the same time so silly and so successful as "Jim Crow."
The Book of the Bush|George Dunderdale

British Dictionary definitions for Jim Crow

jim crow

/ (ˈdʒɪm ˈkrəʊ) /

noun (often capitals) US

the policy or practice of segregating Black people
(as modifier)jim-crow laws

a derogatory term for a Black person
(as modifier)a jim-crow saloon

an implement for bending iron bars or rails

a crowbar fitted with a claw

Derived forms of jim crow

jim-crowism, noun

Word Origin for jim crow

C19: from Jim Crow, name of song used as the basis of an act by Thomas Rice (1808–60), American entertainer

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

Cultural definitions for Jim Crow

Jim Crow

A descriptive term for the segregation of institutions, businesses, hotels, restaurants, and the like. It also refers to the laws that required racial segregation.