assault

American  

[uh-sawlt] / əˈsɔlt /

noun

• assaults
  plural

1. a sudden, violent attack; onslaught.

   an assault on tradition.

   Synonyms:

   aggression, invasion, charge, onset

2. 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.

3. Military. the stage of close combat in an attack.

4. rape.

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verb (used with object)

• assaults,
  present (3rd person singular)
• assaulted,
  past participle,  past
• assaulting
  present participle

1. to make an assault upon; attack; assail.

assault British  

/ əˈsɔːlt /

noun

1. a violent attack, either physical or verbal

2. 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

3. 1. the culmination of a military attack, in which fighting takes place at close quarters

   2. ( as modifier )

      assault troops

4. rape or attempted rape

---

verb

1. to make an assault upon

2. to rape or attempt to rape

Synonym Usage

See attack.

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• assaulter
  noun
• nonassault
  noun
• counterassault
  verb (used with object)
• assaultable
  adjective
• assaultive
  adjective
• unassaultable
  adjective
• unassaulted
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• assaults
  plural

Participles

• assaulting
  present
• assaulted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• assault
  simple
• assaults
  simple
• have assaulted
  perfect
• has assaulted
  perfect
• am assaulting
  progressive
• are assaulting
  progressive
• is assaulting
  progressive
• have been assaulting
  perfect progressive
• has been assaulting
  perfect progressive

Past

• assaulted
  simple
• had assaulted
  perfect
• was assaulting
  progressive
• were assaulting
  progressive
• had been assaulting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will assault
  simple
• will have assaulted
  perfect
• will be assaulting
  progressive
• will have been assaulting
  perfect progressive

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!"

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

assault assaults assaulted assaulting

Four ice hockey players who were acquitted of sexual assault last year should remain barred from representing Canada at international level because they broke Hockey Canada's code of conduct, an independent appeals board has ruled.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

Australian police dropped assault charges on Wednesday against a man lauded for his bravery during last year's mass shooting at Bondi Beach.

From Barron's ● Aug. 12, 2026

“It was an assault on our neighborhood,” said Julee Metz, who lived two doors down.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 5, 2026

If Giustiniani had not left, it is possible the assault would have failed.

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

Homeland Security has previously told news outlets it does not have a “domestic terrorist” database, but said it monitors incidents of “threats, assaults and obstruction” of its officers.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 24, 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

It added that the assaults were "an attack on the security and safety of international navigation, and the security of global energy supplies".

From BBC ● Jul. 7, 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

I couldn’t bear anyone looking at me anymore because even their glances felt like assaults.

From "Flying Through Water" by Mamle Wolo

"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

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

“To enter Colossal’s 55,000-square-foot Dallas headquarters is to find one’s senses fairly assaulted by the Power of Tech,” the publication wrote, describing it as a place where “many wondrous things are happening.”

From Los Angeles Times ● May 21, 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

"That cannot be assaulted, my lords," Roose Bolton announced.

From "A Game of Thrones" by George R.R. Martin

A teenage boy, arrested on suspicion of assaulting an emergency worker, was taken to Bury St Edmunds Police Investigation Centre and has since been released on bail until 4 October.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 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

Weinstein was initially convicted of assaulting Mann in 2020, but that verdict, along with another charge, was overturned in April 2024.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 15, 2026

The fields—wherever they were, whatever they were—had gone darker, the grass yellowing under their feet, the rides rusting, the candy apples moldering, the smell of rot and wet and damp assaulting her nostrils.

From "Bone Gap" by Laura Ruby

Related Words

• aggression
• charge
• incursion
• invasion
• offensive
• onslaught
• rape
• strike
• violation