Black Lives Matter
noun
Note: Black Lives Matter was founded by Black community organizers Patrisse Khan-Cullors, Alicia Garza, and Opal Tometi after George Zimmerman was acquitted of charges relating to his fatal shooting of Black teenager Trayvon Martin in 2012; the movement expanded as people reacted to police killings of unarmed Black people in years following. The name Black Lives Matter functions as a declaration that Black people's lives have as much value as white people's lives, and as a call to end systems and practices that challenge this fact.
—abbreviation BLMExamples of Black Lives Matter in a Sentence
Kansas City Star, 12 July 2025
Alexander has a history of Black Lives Matter activism and has called for defunding the police.
—Peter D'abrosca, FOXNews.com, 10 July 2025
During the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, many individual users and corporate accounts were hesitant to post any content unrelated to activism.
—Kyle Chayka, New Yorker, 9 July 2025
The movement to drop the charges and investigation of Orellana and Topete has drawn support from Black Lives Matter in Los Angeles.
—Victoria Elena Valenzuela, USA Today, 8 July 2025
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Cite this Entry
“Black Lives Matter.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/Black%20Lives%20Matter. Accessed 19 Jul. 2025.
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