ninja

American  

[nin-juh] / ˈnɪn dʒə /

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.

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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 British  

/ ˈnɪndʒə /

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of ninja

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 )

Example Sentences

One moment Hill may be struggling to walk or fully close a fist, and the next he’s soaring through the air on a complex ninja course.

From Seattle Times

The message has been repeated with each accolade, accompanied by a ninja emoji, suggesting Morant was plotting a stealth attack on the league.

From Washington Post

AG: The Clippers pride themselves on operating in silence — one league source once said it has been described within their building as “ninjas in the night” — so speculation can often lead to dead ends.

From Los Angeles Times

Those words, according to the guide, include "grandfather," "housekeeping," "minority," "ninja," "lame," "man-in-the-middle," "mantra," and "see."

From Fox News

According to the guide, words such as "grandfather," "housekeeping," "minority," "ninja," and "lame" are considered "problematic words."

From Fox News