lynch

¹ American  

[linch] / lɪntʃ /

verb (used with object)

1. to put to death, especially by hanging, by mob action and without legal authority.

   In the 19th and 20th centuries, thousands of southern African Americans were lynched by white mobs.

2. to criticize, condemn, etc., in public.

   He’s been unfairly lynched in the media.

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Lynch ² American  

[linch] / lɪntʃ /

noun

1. John Jack, 1917–1999, Irish political leader: prime minister 1966–73, 1977–79.

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Lynch ¹ British  

/ lɪntʃ /

noun

1. David. born 1946, US film director; his work includes the films Eraserhead (1977), Blue Velvet (1986), Wild at Heart (1990), Mulholland Drive (2001), and Inland Empire (2006), and the television series Twin Peaks (1990)

2. John, known as Jack Lynch. 1917–99, Irish statesman; prime minister of the Republic of Ireland (1966–73; 1977–79)

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lynch ² British  

/ lɪntʃ /

verb

1. (tr) (of a mob) to punish (a person) for some supposed offence by hanging without a trial

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Related Words

See hang.

Other Word Forms

• antilynching adjective
• lyncher noun
• lynching noun

Etymology

Origin of lynch

An Americanism first recorded in 1825–35; verb use of lynch in lynch law

Example Sentences

Students rolled up their sleeves and got involved in the campaign to end racial violence against Colored people, including lynchings.

From Literature

Her father, the late actor Henry Fonda, witnessed the lynching of a Black man during the 1919 Omaha race riots when he was 14, casting him into becoming a lifelong liberal.

From Los Angeles Times

The National Memorial is the first institution of its kind dedicated to the legacy of the Black Americans who were the victims of the racial terror of lynching.

From Salon

In spite of all that, Diddy's mother recently defended her son on Sunday and accused the media and others of engaging in a "public lynching."

From Salon

County Supervisor Holly J. Mitchell, who introduced a bill removing “lynching” from California law during her time in the state Senate, said regardless of its enforceability, language in laws matters.

From Los Angeles Times