lynch
Valid in Scrabble
- Scrabble points
- 13
- Words With Friends
- 14
- Letters
- 5
/lɪnt͡ʃ/
Definition of lynch
12 senses · 3 parts of speech · etymology included
verb
-
(transitive)To execute (somebody) without a proper legal trial or procedure, especially by hanging and backed by a mob.
“Public anger erupted. Soldiers were lynched in the streets including young recruits proven to have been deceived by their generals about the true intentions of the attack.”
See all 12 definitions Show less
verb
-
(transitive)To execute (somebody) without a proper legal trial or procedure, especially by hanging and backed by a mob.
“Public anger erupted. Soldiers were lynched in the streets including young recruits proven to have been deceived by their generals about the true intentions of the attack.”
-
(broadly, colloquial, transitive)To castigate severely.
“I telephoned Bill Brandon in Oxford and begged him to get the new refrigeration unit into production before I got lynched.”
noun
- (alt-of, alternative)Alternative form of linch.
name
- (countable, uncountable)A surname from Irish.
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
- (countable, uncountable)A placename
Definitions from Wiktionary, CC BY-SA.
Etymology
First attested 1835, from Lynch law, which appeared in 1811. There is a popular claim that it was named after William Lynch, but equally strong arguments would have it named after Charles Lynch. For the surname, see Lynch. Ultimately a possible doublet of linch.
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