electric chair

noun

1
: a chair used in legal electrocution
2
: the penalty of death by electrocution

Examples of electric chair in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
In South Carolina, inmates can choose between lethal injection, the firing squad or the electric chair. Amanda Lee Myers, USA TODAY, 22 Feb. 2025 That decision came after South Carolina passed a law in 2021 that made death by electric chair or firing squad legal options for people on death row. Eduardo Medina, New York Times, 21 Feb. 2025 In February 1925, Ford cheated the electric chair by twisting up a bed sheet, suspending it from a bar over the door in the cell, and hanging himself. Mara Bovsun, New York Daily News, 26 Jan. 2025 Instead of the electric chair, Herndon would have suffered a slow, painful death through hard labor. John Yoo and John Shu, Newsweek, 24 Jan. 2025 See All Example Sentences for electric chair

Word History

First Known Use

1883, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of electric chair was in 1883

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Cite this Entry

“Electric chair.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/electric%20chair. Accessed 27 Feb. 2025.

Legal Definition

electric chair

noun
elec·​tric chair
1
: a chair used in performing a legal electrocution
2
: the penalty of death by electrocution

More from Merriam-Webster on electric chair

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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