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

Related Words

• bloodbath
• carnage
• extermination
• genocide
• massacre
• slaughter