mas·sa·cre
ˈma-si-kər 
1
: the act or an instance of killing a number of usually helpless or unresisting human beings under circumstances of atrocity or cruelty
witnessed the massacre of a boatload of refugees
2
: a cruel or wanton (see wanton entry 1 sense 1a) murder
3
: a wholesale slaughter of animals
Residents engaged in a citywide cat massacre.
4
: an act of complete destruction
the author's massacre of traditional federalist presuppositions—
R. G. McCloskey
R. G. McCloskeythe Puritan massacre of statues and pictures—Robert Hughes
Robert Hughes
massacred; massacring
ˈma-si-k(ə-)riŋ
1
: to kill by massacre
2
: mangle sense 2
words were misspelled and syntax massacred—Bice Clemow
Bice ClemowSynonyms
Examples of massacre in a Sentence
Noun
The game turned out to be a complete massacre.
the infamous massacre of more than 200 Sioux at Wounded Knee, South Dakota
Verb
Hundreds have been massacred in the uprising.
The other team really massacred us on Saturday.
He really massacred that song.
Recent Examples on the WebTim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Unlike me, my grandmother knew firsthand that the sea is foremost a place of haunting, the port city one of imperial interest, and the beach one of arrivals and a site of massacres, one of which my grandfather narrowly escaped in WWII.
—Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024
Brenda Breslauer, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024
In the assault, 1,200 people were massacred and 251 were taken hostage (roughly 100, both alive and dead, remain in captivity).
—The Editors, National Review, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for massacre 
Noun
Not long afterward, Karen came across a photograph on the internet—a tiny doll, taken from the massacre site.
—Tim Madigan, Smithsonian Magazine, 22 Oct. 2024
Unlike me, my grandmother knew firsthand that the sea is foremost a place of haunting, the port city one of imperial interest, and the beach one of arrivals and a site of massacres, one of which my grandfather narrowly escaped in WWII.
—Zining Mok, Longreads, 22 Oct. 2024
Verb
Amid the heartbreak in Lewiston, where 18 people were massacred on the evening of Oct. 25, 2023, at a bowling alley hosting a youth night and a bar where deaf people were playing cornhole, the gunman's family contemplated remaining quietly in the shadows.
—Brenda Breslauer, NBC News, 23 Oct. 2024
In the assault, 1,200 people were massacred and 251 were taken hostage (roughly 100, both alive and dead, remain in captivity).
—The Editors, National Review, 7 Oct. 2024
See all Example Sentences for massacre
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'massacre.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Massacre.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/massacre. Accessed 5 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
massacre
1 of 2 verb
mas·sa·cre
ˈmas-i-kər
massacred; massacring
-k(ə-)riŋ
: to kill in a massacre : slaughter
massacrer
noun
-i-kər-ər
-i-krər
massacre
2 of 2 noun
: the violent and cruel killing of a number of persons
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