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:
The theoretical model is believed to be the first time in a century that Canada planned for an American assault.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
It wasn’t clear to the troops what caused the radio outage during the trench assault, which could have stemmed from a hardware or software issue.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 3, 2026
Because of this, Coates said he believes an attack by the US on Canada would not begin with an armed assault, but rather with more discreet means like cyberwarfare.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
Shortly after, Jane Doe reported the incident to Cornell police, leading the school to assemble a sexual assault task force and conduct an internal investigation.
From Salon ● Oct. 2, 2026
Out in the jungle on patrol, fear of a sudden assault kept Horan’s nerves on edge.
From "Boots on the Ground: America's War in Vietnam" by Elizabeth Partridge
Dan Schorr, a former sex crimes prosecutor, told the BBC that New York law still protects victims of assaults who have chosen to drink or take drugs.
From BBC ● Oct. 6, 2026
“This administration has been clear: anyone who assaults or obstructs law enforcement will be arrested and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The Navier-Stokes problem, which deals with complex fluid dynamics, had withstood the assaults of mathematicians for almost two centuries.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 2, 2026
Since then, Colombia has stepped up air assaults and authorized joint military operations with the United States.
From Barron's ● Sep. 8, 2026
We proceeded along the street, marching warily to avoid the assaults of guile unmoved by the fear of bombardment; the shops and warehouses to either side of us were evidently deserted.
From "The Astonishing Life of Octavian Nothing, Traitor to the Nation, Volume II: The Kingdom on the Waves" by M.T. Anderson
Conviction rates are lower than when the person assaulted was sober.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
"I have never sexually assaulted anyone in my entire life," the 54-year-old actor said in a statement.
From Barron's ● Jul. 29, 2026
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
A wash of sudden heat assaulted them, heavy with the odors of ash, brimstone, and burnt meat.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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
One man has denied assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 7, 2026
A second man, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 5, 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
The winds that had been assaulting us suddenly disappeared.
From "City of the Plague God" by Sarwat Chadda
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.
