ninja

[nin-juh]

noun

plural

ninja, ninjas 

1. (often initial capital letter),  a member of a feudal Japanese society of mercenary agents highly trained in martial arts and stealth ninjutsu, who were hired for covert purposes ranging from espionage to sabotage and assassination.

2. a person who is expert or highly skilled in a specified field or activity (often used attributively).

   marketing ninjas; ninja programmers.

verb (used with object)

ninjaed, ninjaing 

1. Slang.,  Also ninja loot (in a video game) to unfairly claim (valuable items or loot) from a treasure pool by taking them from a kill made by another player or bypassing the agreed-upon system for loot distribution in a group.

   When I ninja an epic item, I log off the server before anyone even realizes what happened.

ninja

/ ˈnɪndʒə /

noun

1. (sometimes capital) a person skilled in ninjutsu, a Japanese martial art characterized by stealthy movement and camouflage

Word History and Origins

Origin of ninja¹

First recorded in 1960–65; from Japanese, equivalent to nin- “endure” + -ja, combining form of -sha “person, agent” (from Middle Chinese, equivalent to Chinese rěn + zhě )

Word History and Origins

Origin of ninja¹

Japanese

Example Sentences

The first of these revival projects, ninja adventure Shinobi: Art of Vengeance, slashed its way on to some critics' game of the year shortlists when it came out last month.

From BBC

Global content giant Lionsgate is reportedly developing Naruto, an anime about a young, underdog ninja who works his way up to become the village protector.

From BBC

After the house fell silent, they rifled through pockets of clothes inside the closet, finding a manicure kit and a ninja star inside a box of childhood mementos.

From Los Angeles Times

Ronan's Law, named after her son, will outlaw the manufacture, supply, sale, possession and importation of ninja swords.

From BBC

“But even then, success is a coin toss. Our 8-year-old could pop up like a ninja, asking for water.”

From Los Angeles Times