pogrom
Americannoun
noun
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Pogroms were common in Russia during the nineteenth century.
Etymology
Origin of pogrom
1880–85; (< Yiddish ) < Russian pogróm literally, destruction, devastation (of a town, country, etc., as in war), noun derivative of pogromít’, equivalent to po- perfective prefix + gromít’ to destroy, devastate, derivative of grom thunder
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
"We thought we were safe. Our grandparents and great grandparents -- Holocaust survivors -- many of them came to here to escape hate and to escape bloodshed, pogrom, persecution," he said.
From Barron's • Dec. 17, 2025
As reports of antisemitism surge in Germany and elsewhere, commemorations of the Nazi pogrom Kristallnacht have taken on special resonance this year.
From New York Times • Nov. 10, 2023
The term "pogrom" refers to violent and organised attacks against Jews, and is particularly associated with pre-Second World War eastern Europe.
From BBC • Oct. 16, 2023
"It's something we used to imagine from our grandfathers, grandmothers in the pogrom in Europe and other places," Israeli Major General Itai Veruv said.
From Reuters • Oct. 10, 2023
The ringleaders of the pogrom movement were not local residents but itinerant laborers from the Great-Russian governments, who were employed in building a railroad in the neighborhood of the South-Russian city.
From History of the Jews in Russia and Poland. Volume II From the death of Alexander I. until the death of Alexander III. (1825-1894) by Friedlaender, I.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
