Definition

Noun: - A group of people who illegally capture, attack, or kill someone, often by hanging, because they believe that person has committed a crime, without allowing for a legal trial or official judgment. The term emphasizes the unlawful, violent, and impulsive nature of the group's actions.

Usage

This term is used to describe a specific, violent type of collective behavior. It is almost always used in a negative and critical sense to condemn the actions of the mob as a gross violation of justice and civil rights. - It functions as a countable noun (e.g., a lynch mob, lynch mobs). - It is often used metaphorically to describe a modern group of people who collectively and aggressively attack someone's reputation or career, especially online or in the media, demanding severe punishment without due process.

Examples

• Literal/Historical Usage:
  • The sheriff tried to protect the prisoner from the angry lynch mob gathering outside the jail.
  • Historical accounts describe the horrific actions of lynch mobs in the post-Civil War era.
• Metaphorical/Modern Usage:
  • After the controversial tweet, a social media lynch mob formed, demanding the CEO's immediate resignation.
  • The journalist warned against the dangers of trial by lynch mob in the court of public opinion.

Advanced Usage

• "to be/feel like a lynch mob": Describes a situation where a group's aggressive, accusatory behavior resembles the dynamics of a literal lynch mob.
  • The press conference felt like a lynch mob, with reporters shouting accusations rather than asking questions.

Variants and Related Words

• Lynch (verb): To kill (someone) illegally by hanging, especially by a mob.
  • The crowd threatened to lynch the suspected thief.
• Mob justice/mob rule: A situation where a crowd, rather than legal authorities, metes out punishment, often violently and unjustly.

Synonyms

• Vigilantes
• Posse (when acting outside the law)
• Kangaroo court (refers to the unfair "trial," not the group itself)

Related Idioms and Phrases

• "Witch hunt": While distinct, this idiom is related in describing a campaign of persecution based on allegations without proper evidence. A implies imminent physical or professional violence, while a implies a prolonged investigation based on fear or prejudice.
  • He claimed the ethics investigation was nothing more than a political witch hunt.

Noun

1. a mob that kills a person for some presumed offense without legal authority