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:
But Fryoff said as part of a Ventura County sexual assault kit initiative, all sexual assault cases are being reviewed and retested with modern technology.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
A man who was hailed a hero for disarming one of the Bondi Beach shooters in December has had assault charges against him dropped by police.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
"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
Represented pro bono by the Deborah Project, which defends Jews who are under assault in education, they could afford to keep fighting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 9, 2026
If divorce had presented itself as the dastardly antithesis of all this, it could easily have been cast onto the other pan of the scales, along with betrayal, illness, thieving, assault and mendacity.
From "Atonement" by Ian McEwan
“Operator assaults have been cut in half, and serious assaults are down 67%.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026
The Malian army confirmed the rebel assaults on the four towns and Kenieroba on Facebook Saturday morning, asserting that "these attacks were vigorously repelled" and that "the situation is completely under control."
From Barron's ● Jul. 4, 2026
Gemma said she wanted victims to feel empowered to report sexual assaults.
From BBC ● Jul. 1, 2026
By catching “the occasion by the forelock,” as one admirer later put it, Washington’s twin assaults revived both American fortunes and his battlefield reputation.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026
The putrid smell assaults my nostrils before I see the dark spots and fuzzy green mold.
From "South of Somewhere" by Kalena Miller
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
The protests have intensified in recent days after security guards assaulted a man near the protected area and footage of preparatory construction work and bulldozers on the beach was released.
From Barron's ● Jun. 4, 2026
A retrial jury has been discharged after it failed to reach verdicts over allegations that two brothers assaulted a police officer at Manchester Airport.
From BBC ● May 20, 2026
Christian Bojorquez argued in his closing statements to the jury that Officer William Jones believed that he was confronting a man with a gun who had already assaulted several people inside the store.
From Los Angeles Times ● May 7, 2026
His lungs burned as a stench like earth and fire filled them, and a metallic clanging assaulted his eardrums in a steady, repetitive rhythm he could appreciate.
From "Beasts of Prey" by Ayana Gray
Defence lawyer Mohamed Sakr said in court that the order prohibiting Ahmed from assaulting, threatening, stalking or intimidating his father had been accepted without admissions, according to national broadcaster ABC.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
Also on Thursday, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 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
As ProPublica and others have reported, citizens — including Garcia Venegas — accused of assaulting officers have not always been charged with assault.
From Salon ● May 24, 2026
There was no snowstorm, no churning sky, no assaulting cold on this side of the witch’s palace.
From "Breadcrumbs" by Anne Ursu
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.
