Jim Crow
US/ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/
Jim Crow proper noun: a black man.
Proper noun
Jim Crow
- A black man.
- The collective policies and customs of an era of racial oppression, especially legalized racial persecution and segregationist practices, prevalent from the late 1800s through the 1960s until challenged by the U.S. civil rights movement.
- Texas stands for segregation—for Jim Crow cars, for eating in separate restaurants, for sitting in separate rail coaches, for doing all the things which make white and black people in the United States realise how different they are.1950 February, Leonard Lindsay, in John O'London's Weekly, “The Jim Crow Car”, in Railway Magazine, page 126
- Many of us like to ask ourselves, 'What would I do if I was alive during slavery? Or the Jim Crow South? Or apartheid? What would I do if my country was committing genocide?2024 February 26, Courtney Kube, Marlene Lenthang, Corky Siemaszko, quoting Aaron Bushnell, “U.S. Air Force member who set himself on fire outside Israeli Embassy in D.C. has died”, in NBC News
- A fictional character from various minstrel show performances who is stereotypically depicted as an unintelligent, violent, and promiscuous black man.
Noun
Jim Crow
- A World War II code name for patrols along the British coastline to intercept enemy aircraft, originally intended to warn of an invasion in 1940.
- … flying cannon equipped Spitfires V’s mainly on ‘Jim Crow’ operations (operational Patrols along the home coastline intercepting any hostile aircraft and looking out for any invasion forces).2008, Simon Muggleton, The Battle of Britain Monument in London
- A double-action planing tool invented by Joseph Whitworth, in which the blade ‘jumps’ to face the other way on the back-stroke.
- Two other machines exhibited by Whitworth… One was furnished with a reversing tool to plane both ways, and called, from its peculiar motion, a Jim Crow machine.1852, Charles Tomlinson (editor), Cyclopædia of Useful Arts, Mechanical and Chemical, Manufactures, Mining, and Engineering, volume 1, section xiv “Machinery Exhibited”, page cxliii
- He has considerably improved upon the planing machine, in his “Jim Crow” machine, so called because the cutter reverses itself and works both ways, and in fact adapts itself to any position to do its work.1864, February 6, Once a Week, volume 10, article “Machine Tool-Makers”, page 188
- A tool for bending railway rails, by holding the rail with two arms and pushing a screw into the other side.
- When rails have to be bent with a Jim Crow, as in setting stock or check-rails, or straightening a bent rail, they should always be heated first, or they are liable to crack, especially steel rails.1886, The Railway Engineer, volume 7, page 207
- It is placed on the rail pretty much as a jim-crow is set, and as the middle roll is turned it travels along on the rail, curving the rail as it moves.1899, W. A. Smith, Railway Review, volume 39, page 16
Adjective
Jim Crow (not comparable)
- Discriminatory against African Americans.
- Segregated between African Americans and Caucasians.
- A Jim Crow audience
Verb
Jim Crow (third-person singular simple present Jim Crows, present participle Jim Crowing, simple past and past participle Jim Crowed)
- To work toward legislation that incorporates a discriminatory caste system or racial segregation.
- The American Bowling Congress’ 50-odd years of jimcrowing went by the boards during their convention in May which carried a motion to delete the "white males only" clause from their constitution.1950, Editors, “"Important Briefs"”, in Interracial News Service, page 1
- It is not only the students who are jimcrowed in the South. And it is not only the students who are protesting.1960, Editors, “Atlanta Math Teachers Refuse to be Jimcrowed”, in Workers World, page 1
Jim Crow meaning in Bengali
Jim Crow in Bengali
- নিগ্রো
Examples of Jim Crow in a sentence
- The “Jim Crow” machine, which is Whitworth's patent, was new to some of the visitors. … But with a “Jim Crow” a cut is obtained both ways.1872, August 2, The Building News and Engineering Journal, article “Railway Works at Longhedge”, volume 23, page 77
- Quelling his nerves, Moist grabbed a jim crow and opened the trap door on to the roof of the guard's van, to the initial amazement of the grag who had been trying to force his way in.2013, Terry Pratchett, Raising Steam, Doubleday, →ISBN, pages 345–346:
Forms of Jim Crow
| third-person singular present | Jim Crows |
|---|---|
| present participle | Jim Crowing |
| past participle | Jim Crowed |
| past | Jim Crowed |
| alternative form | jimcrow |
Origin of Jim Crow
From the minstrel show song Jump Jim Crow, written in 1828 by Thomas D. Rice, the originator of blackface performance.
Words formed from Jim Crow
Questions about Jim Crow
- What does Jim Crow mean?
- Jim Crow means a black man.
- What is Jim Crow in Bengali?
- Jim Crow in Bengali is নিগ্রো. See Jim Crow meaning in Bengali.
- How do you use Jim Crow in a sentence?
- The “Jim Crow” machine, which is Whitworth's patent, was new to some of the visitors. … But with a “Jim Crow” a cut is obtained both ways.
- What part of speech is Jim Crow?
- Jim Crow can be a proper noun, a noun, an adjective or a verb.
- How do you pronounce Jim Crow?
- Jim Crow is pronounced /ˌdʒɪm ˈkɹoʊ/ (US).
Words near Jim Crow in the dictionary
Source and license
Adapted from Wiktionary: Jim Crow (page history and authors); Jim crow (Bengali Wiktionary) (page history and authors). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.
Last updated:
Cite this entry: “Jim Crow.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/jim_crow. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.