lynch

IPA/lɪntʃ/
KK[lˈɪntʃ]IPA/lɪntʃ/

lynch — verb

  • lynchpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • lyncheshe / she / it
  • lynchedpast simple
  • lynching-ing form

1. to capture and kill someone, especially by hanging, because a group judges that

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to capture and kill someone, especially by hanging, because a group judges that person guilty and acts as though they were the court, with no judge or jury involved.

Example

A mob lynched the young man after falsely accusing him of stealing a horse.

active voice: 'mob lynched [person]' for perpetrator-focused action

In 1919, a mob dragged Sivan from his home and lynched him outside the town.

active voice: 'mob dragged [person] from [place] and lynched [person]' for narrative concreteness

Common collocations
  • mob
  • crowd
  • lynch mob
  • accuse
  • trial
  • hanging
  • extrajudicial
Synonyms
  • execute

    state-sanctioned and follows a legal process; 'lynch' is always illegal and carried out by a mob

  • murder

    broader term for any unlawful killing; 'lynch' is a specific type of murder by a group acting as self-appointed judges

  • string up

    informal and less precise; can mean hang someone, not always with the historical or racial weight of 'lynch'

Grammar Patterns

lynch + noun phrase

be lynched (passive)

Usage Note

Carries strong historical weight, especially connected to racial violence against African Americans in the post-Civil War United States, though lynching has occurred worldwide. Avoid using the word casually or metaphorically for non-lethal violence; reserve it for extrajudicial killing by a group. The noun form 'lynching' is also common in historical and human-rights discourse.

Common Mistakes

The government lynched the prisoner at dawn.
The government executed the prisoner at dawn.
'Execute' refers to a lawful, state-ordered punishment; 'lynch' describes illegal killing by a group without legal authority.
The bullies lynched him in the schoolyard.
The bullies beat him up in the schoolyard.
'Lynch' specifically means killing, and carries extreme historical weight; it is not a synonym for any violent attack.

Word family

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

All four words involve killing, but they differ sharply in legality and context. 'Execute' means to kill someone as a legally authorized punishment following a court sentence — it is state-sanctioned. 'Murder' is the broadest term, covering any unlawful killing with intent. 'Assassinate' refers to the targeted killing of a prominent figure, often for political reasons, and may be carried out by an individual or a small group. 'Lynch' is distinct in that a mob acts as judge, jury, and executioner without any legal process, and the term carries deep historical associations with racial terror. For example: 'The state executed the convicted murderer.' vs. 'A white mob lynched the teenager for looking at a white woman.' The latter describes an illegal, racist act of mob violence — something far removed from a formal execution or a political assassination.

execute ↗murder ↗assassinate ↗string up ↗

Common collocations

Nouns

Adverbs

Phrases

  • lynch mob
  • lynch law
  • death by lynching

Prepositions

Etymology

EnglishAmerican English

The word 'lynch' is believed to come from Charles Lynch (1736–1796), a Virginia planter and militia colonel who, during the American Revolutionary War, set up extrajudicial tribunals to punish Loyalists. The phrase 'Lynch's law' appeared in the late 1700s, and by the mid-1800s 'lynching' had become the term for mob killings, especially in the American South, where it was used as a tool of racial terror against Black Americans after the Civil War.