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

Example Sentences

This formulation equates immigration with genocide, which logically invites genocidal violence in response, and has been cited in mass murders across the globe.

From Salon

The incident on 13 April devastated Australia, where mass murder is rare, and prompted a national conversation about gendered violence.

From BBC

Trump has pledged to be even more directly complicit in Israel’s mass murder of Palestinian people in Gaza than President Biden has been.

From Salon

After Sofia’s pulled a Frey mass murder leaving him alone and chained up in his underwear, negotiating for his life, he tries to shame her by saying, “What kind of person kills their own family?”

From Salon

A few months after the mass murder, Walmart erected a memorial on the south side of the parking lot.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

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