Ku Klux Klan

noun

ˈkü-ˈkləks-ˈklan 

 also  ˈkyü-,

 or  ˈklü-

1

: a violent secret fraternal society founded in 1915 in Georgia to maintain white Protestant cultural and political power

also : any one of more than 20 hate (see hate entry 1 sense 1c) groups that associate themselves with the Ku Klux Klan

2

: a violent post-Civil War secret society founded in Tennessee in 1866 to upend the Black political and social power that was being established during Reconstruction

Note: This Ku Klux Klan had largely dissolved by the end of the 1870s.

Examples of Ku Klux Klan in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

In the controversial broadcast, Ye wore a Black Ku Klux Klan outfit, with a swastika chain and a Sean Jean t-shirt. —Demicia Inman, VIBE.com, 4 Apr. 2025

The second asks why there is such militant enforcement of car-pool-lane regulations, while people are still free to join the Ku Klux Klan. —Hershal Pandya, Vulture, 25 Mar. 2025

Those stories happened in the U.S. as well, with Cynthia McFadden (who co-anchored the show from 2005 to 2014) recalling her 2012 reporting on resurgent white supremacist group the Ku Klux Klan. —Ashley Schwartz-Lavares, ABC News, 24 Mar. 2025

Racine argued the people involved broke both local D.C. and federal laws, including a statute that stemmed from the 1871 Ku Klux Klan Act, which focused on violent conspiracies. —Lauren Irwin, The Hill, 17 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1867, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for Ku Klux Klan

• businessman
• canavan
• caravan
• constantan
• dragoman
• fisherman
• handyman
• harmattan
• journeyman
• marianne
• middleman
• minivan