assailant
Americannoun
-
assailants
plural
adjective
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of assailant
From the Middle French word assaillant, dating back to 1525–35. See assail, -ant
Explanation
A wife who sends a vase sailing at her husband's head might be considered an assailant, or attacker. Or, they might be playing a game of dodgeball with the furniture. Assailant comes from the Latin ad- meaning "at" and salire meaning "to leap." Leap at someone and you're an assailant — someone who attacks. You'll usually hear this word when lawyers or police are talking about attacks, because most people use its synonym attacker in casual conversation. Have you ever been attacked by ants, looking down to see your foot covered in them? Think of the word ant when you spell the word assailant to remember its ending.
Vocabulary lists containing assailant
Fever 1793
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Franklin Roosevelt, "Four Freedoms" (1941)
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This Week in Words : December 23 - 29, 2017
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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:
While a screening error might have let a weapon through, a motivated assailant should have been detected and caught long before reaching the airport, they said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Nellie Strandberg, a 16-year-old Brinell student, said she was on her way to the school's library when the assailant entered the institution.
From Barron's ● Aug. 22, 2026
On-screen footage shows UFC fighter Michael Chandler explaining to an FBI agent how to neutralize an armed assailant with hand-to-hand combat.
From Slate ● Jun. 16, 2026
The assailant, she told investigators, offered to drive her to a nearby pay phone.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 15, 2026
The State's primary evidence against Mr. Hinton involved a third crime where a witness identified him as the assailant.
From "Just Mercy" by Bryan Stevenson
Meanwhile, Rita told the sheriff’s deputies that she thought she could identify one of the assailants.
From Slate ● Sep. 17, 2026
He accused the presidents of France, Benin and Ivory Coast -- Emmanuel Macron, Patrice Talon and Alassane Ouattara -- of sponsoring the assailants.
From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026
A Texas State University team, analyzing 597 attacks between 2000 and 2024, found that around 45% of assailants are either shot or subdued by either civilians or police.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Dec. 17, 2025
Although Guimaraes enjoyed international support, his assailants haven’t been identified.
From Salon ● Jun. 3, 2025
As part of a two-pronged attack, P.M. flashed around various assailants at high speed, leaving mirrors confiscated from Missus Nedraw’s stuck in midair.
From "The Last Last-Day-of-Summer" by Lamar Giles
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.
