mass murder

[mas mur-der]

noun

1. the act of killing a number of people in a single incident or over a short time period, involving more than two victims and typically a large number: The individual motives for mass murder vary greatly.

   He has written about mass murder by totalitarian regimes.

   The individual motives for mass murder vary greatly.

   The article is about five victims of a mass murder.

Word History and Origins

Origin of mass murder¹

First recorded in 1915–20

Example Sentences

But Cruz accused Nigerian officials of "ignoring and even facilitating the mass murder of Christians by Islamist jihadists".

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"This is mass murder," he said of the attack.

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A teenager who planned to carry out mass murder in a terror attack at a mosque in Greenock has been sentenced to 10 years in custody.

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“But our laws only go so far when an AR-15 can be obtained in a state with weak gun laws and brought into New York to commit mass murder.”

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She has been charged with committing crimes against humanity, including issuing orders that led to mass killings and targeted violence against civilians, as well as incitement, conspiracy and failure to prevent mass murder.

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Related Words

• bloodbath 
• carnage 
• extermination www.thesaurus.com
• genocide 
• massacre 
• slaughter