assault
Americannoun
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a sudden, violent attack; onslaught.
an assault on tradition.
- Synonyms:
- aggression, invasion, charge, onset
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Law. an unlawful physical attack upon another; an attempt or offer to do violence to another, with or without battery, as by holding a stone or club in a threatening manner.
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Military. the stage of close combat in an attack.
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rape.
verb (used with object)
noun
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a violent attack, either physical or verbal
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law an intentional or reckless act that causes another person to expect to be subjected to immediate and unlawful violence Compare battery assault and battery
-
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the culmination of a military attack, in which fighting takes place at close quarters
-
( as modifier )
assault troops
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rape or attempted rape
verb
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to make an assault upon
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to rape or attempt to rape
Related Words
See attack.
Other Word Forms
- assaultable adjective
- assaulter noun
- assaultive adjective
- counterassault verb (used with object)
- nonassault noun
- unassaultable adjective
- unassaulted adjective
Etymology
Origin of assault
First recorded in 1200–50; Middle English asaut, from Old French, from Medieval Latin assaltus “attacked,” past participle of assalīre “to attack, jump on,” replacing Latin assilīre, both ultimately from Latin as- as- + salīre “to jump, leap”
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.
Inside, some people had brought prams, others, who were reservists, their assault rifles while some began praying in a small group.
From Barron's
It took an individual actor just a month after their initial breach to carry out the assault, according to Gambit.
From MarketWatch
Before his death, Shah Alam had been in local police custody for nearly a year on assault and weapons charges related to an incident in which two police officers were injured, according to police.
From BBC
Seitz said the men had assaulted him, and that the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department and deputies had violated his civil rights, inflicted emotional stress, defamed him and conspired to keep the matter quiet.
From Los Angeles Times
Mr. Turley describes the Philadelphia mob’s 1779 assault on the home of James Wilson—what would come to be known as the Fort Wilson riot.
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
