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onslaught

American  
[on-slawt, awn-] / ˈɒnˌslɔt, ˈɔn- /

noun

  1. an onset, assault, or attack, especially a vigorous one.

onslaught British  
/ ˈɒnˌslɔːt /

noun

  1. a violent attack

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of onslaught

1615–25; < Dutch aanslag a striking, (earlier) attack (equivalent to aan on + slag blow, stroke; akin to slay ), with assimilation to obsolete slaught slaughter

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.

Iran has demanded reparations for destruction wrought in the five-week onslaught.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 4, 2026

Season 2 returned nine years later to wrestle with Peak TV’s onslaught.

From Salon • Mar. 26, 2026

Curtis seemed to tense up amid the smooth onslaught.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

It is leaning into its area expertise to drive adoption, and hoping that will provide a moat to protect it from the AI onslaught.

From Barron's • Feb. 24, 2026

He may be stern; he may be exacting; he may be ambitious yet; but his is the sternness of the warrior Greatheart, who guards his pilgrim convoy from the onslaught of Apollyon.

From "Jane Eyre" by Charlotte Brontë

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.