Boston Massacre

American

noun

American History.

a riot in Boston (March 5, 1770) arising from the resentment of Boston colonists toward British troops quartered in the city, in which the troops fired on the mob and killed several persons.

Boston Massacre Cultural

A clash between British troops and townspeople in Boston in 1770, before the Revolutionary War. The British fired into a crowd that was threatening them, killing five, including Crispus Attucks. The soldiers had been sent to help the government maintain order and were resented even before this incident. The killings increased the colonists' inclination toward revolution.

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

In 1768 King George III filled Boston with armed troops, creating a powder keg; in two years the spark of a single rifle shot would explode the Boston Massacre.

From The Wall Street Journal

Prints, paintings and works of decorative art document the philosophies, pivotal events and major figures of the time, from the Boston Massacre and Paul Revere to indigenous conflicts and George Washington.

From The Wall Street Journal

Wall panels remind us of the Townshend Acts, the Tea Act and the Boston Massacre, all seminal events that led the Colonies to eventually break away from Britain.

From The Wall Street Journal

For the founding generation, their defining experience of the dangers of domestic deployment of the military was the Boston Massacre and the quartering of British troops in private homes.

From Salon

That event was later dubbed the Boston Massacre.

From Salon

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023