assault
Americannoun
-
assaults
plural
-
a sudden, violent attack; onslaught.
an assault on tradition.
- Synonyms:
- aggression, invasion, charge, onset
-
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.
-
Military. the stage of close combat in an attack.
-
rape.
verb (used with object)
-
assaults,
present (3rd person singular)
-
assaulted,
past participle, past
-
assaulting
present participle
noun
-
a violent attack, either physical or verbal
-
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
-
-
the culmination of a military attack, in which fighting takes place at close quarters
-
( as modifier )
assault troops
-
-
rape or attempted rape
verb
-
to make an assault upon
-
to rape or attempt to rape
Synonym Usage
See attack.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
-
assaulternoun
-
nonassaultnoun
-
counterassaultverb (used with object)
-
assaultableadjective
-
assaultiveadjective
-
unassaultableadjective
-
unassaultedadjective
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
assaultsimple
-
assaultssimple
-
have assaultedperfect
-
has assaultedperfect
-
am assaultingprogressive
-
are assaultingprogressive
-
is assaultingprogressive
-
have been assaultingperfect progressive
-
has been assaultingperfect progressive
Past
-
assaultedsimple
-
had assaultedperfect
-
was assaultingprogressive
-
were assaultingprogressive
-
had been assaultingperfect progressive
Future
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”
Explanation
An assault is an attack. Getting punched, yelled at, or bombed are all types of assault. To assault is to attack or bombard someone in some way. Fighter planes can make an aerial assault, while ground troops make a ground assault. Verbal assault consists of insults, swearing, or threats. A strong criticism, like a negative review in the newspaper, is a written assault. Physical assault can range from getting pushed to getting shot. You could even say "That music is so loud it's assaulting my ear drums!"
Vocabulary lists containing assault
Hoot
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Nothing But the Truth
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Code Talker
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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.
See Examples For:
"We condemn the assault to which the displaced Kurdish families were subjected during their return," Mazloum Abdi, leader of the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces who signed the January deal with Damascus, said on X.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
“It was an assault on our neighborhood,” said Julee Metz, who lived two doors down.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
It doubles the maximum penalty from 12 months to two years for those who assault police or other emergency workers.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
Another major assault on May 6-7 failed as well.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 5, 2026
As he and his family traveled through Heidelberg, he slipped into a coma, the result apparently of a combined assault of diabetes, colitis, and his foot infection, all worsened by a bout of food poisoning.
From "The Devil in the White City" by Erik Larson
BTP confirmed two officers have been moved to other roles due to "incompetence" in handling investigations into Levy's transport assaults.
From BBC ● Aug. 7, 2026
“Operator assaults have been cut in half, and serious assaults are down 67%.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The attack immediately revived memories of a series of deadly assaults that have shaken Germany in recent years and fuelled fierce debate over security.
From Barron's ● Jul. 25, 2026
This year, despite the attacks, he expects an even bigger turnout as the population brushes off Russia’s unyielding assaults.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 19, 2026
By the end of August 1943, as our training ended, Admiral Nimitz was getting ready to stage amphibious assaults on the Gilbert Islands with the First and Second Marine divisions.
From "Code Talker: A Novel About the Navajo Marines of World War Two" by Joseph Bruchac
Leto, in a statement shared with The Times on Wednesday, denied the allegations raised by the BBC documentary: “I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 29, 2026
Hearing Platner deny that he assaulted Fifield, and seeing so many rally behind him and against her, was too much.
From Slate ● Jul. 7, 2026
"Today's Supreme Court decision affirms once and for all the jury's unanimous verdict that President Donald J. Trump sexually assaulted and defamed E. Jean Carroll," said Carroll's attorney Roberta Kaplan.
From Barron's ● Jun. 29, 2026
A psychiatrist who decided he could not detain Valdo Calocane under the Mental Health Act after he assaulted a flatmate said the Nottingham attacks killer "wished to take control" during his assessment.
From BBC ● May 7, 2026
For while our noses and lungs feasted on nature’s goodness, our eyes were assaulted by evidence of her savagery.
From "Jacob Have I Loved" by Katherine Paterson
Under Essayli, federal prosecutors in L.A. have aggressively charged protesters with assaulting and impeding the actions of immigration agents, filing more than 100 cases.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 22, 2026
First Minister John Swinney has apologised to a Dundee girl who brandished weapons at a Bulgarian man who was later convicted of assaulting her, after previously warning against "misinformation" around the incident.
From BBC ● Jun. 18, 2026
Also on Thursday, a second man, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
The Justice Department has opened an investigation into writer E. Jean Carroll, who accused President Trump of sexually assaulting her 30 years ago, people familiar with the probe said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 28, 2026
She walked outside, into the assaulting Phoenix heat, then went back inside.
From "Zeitoun" by Dave Eggers
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.
