mass shooting

American

[mas shoot-ing] / ˈmæs ˈʃut ɪŋ /

noun

a single incident involving the shooting with one or more firearms of a number of people, but more than two and typically a large number, especially when the victims are random.

There's news of a mass shooting at the stadium, with two fatalities and 25 injured.

Etymology

Origin of mass shooting

First recorded in 1920–25

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.

While this incident does not meet the legal definition of a mass shooting, officials say the investigation is treating the incident as possible terrorism — defined by the FBI as “violent, criminal acts committed by individuals and/or groups to further ideological goals stemming from domestic influences, such as those of a political, religious, social, racial, or environmental nature.”

From Salon

The whistleblower alleged that same team was delayed in responding to a mass shooting at Brown University in Rhode Island over Patel's guidance and placing a jet on hold.

From BBC

Headed by former High Court Justice Virginia Bell, the inquiry - which started on Tuesday - will also examine the events leading up to the attack, which was Australia's worst mass shooting in decades.

From BBC

OpenAI banned a ChatGPT account owned by the suspect of a mass shooting in British Columbia more than half a year before the attack took place.

From BBC

Months before Jesse Van Rootselaar became the suspect in the mass shooting that devastated a rural town in British Columbia, Canada, OpenAI considered alerting law enforcement about her interactions with its ChatGPT chatbot, the company said.

From The Wall Street Journal

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