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
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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 former Doctor Who and Kidulthood star appeared at Westminster Magistrates Court in London on Wednesday on two charges of sexual assault, three charges of voyeurism and one charge of exposure.
From BBC ● Oct. 21, 2026
"The female politicians who responded almost ubiquitously reported experiences of either unwanted approaches, persistent unwanted contact from people, or experiences of threats or of assault," she told AFP.
From Barron's ● Oct. 20, 2026
Strong’s post also addressed the timing of the monologue given the recent high-profile sexual assault case at Cornell University.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 15, 2026
Bulgarian Prime Minister Rumen Radev summoned the Russian ambassador over the incident, the second such assault on commercial shipping in the area in a week.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 14, 2026
The angry sparrows persisted with their savage assault.
From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques
“Tensions were heightened as Saudi Arabia said it was dealing with new drone and missile assaults on Monday,” ANZ Research analysts say in a research report.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 13, 2026
“And I’m going to stand up to those assaults, and Californians will continue to stand up to those assaults.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 1, 2026
Such combined assaults expose a vulnerability in Western air defenses that rely on expensive interceptors to shoot down incoming projectiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 27, 2026
A man has been given a caution by police as part of an investigation into assaults on protesters at the Reform UK party conference in Birmingham earlier this month.
From BBC ● Sep. 23, 2026
Because it was Saturday, Levy Pants had ceased its assaults upon the concept of free enterprise for the weekend.
From "A Confederacy of Dunces" by John Kennedy Toole
The Met has appealed for anyone with information, or anyone else who believes they may have been assaulted, to come forward.
From BBC ● Oct. 19, 2026
A French mayor was assaulted and a Belgian vehicle was damaged, he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026
The following day, a 72-year-old Fresno resident shot and wounded an ICE agent whom police said had fallen asleep on the resident’s daughter’s front lawn, appeared “intoxicated and agitated” and allegedly assaulted the resident.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 14, 2026
Conviction rates are lower than when the person assaulted was sober.
From Salon ● Oct. 3, 2026
She curled herself into a ball, but as she closed her eyes, memories assaulted her, so she sat back up, leaning against the rough wooden wall.
From "Copper Sun" by Sharon M. Draper
Robinson has served jail time in the U.K. on charges including assaulting an off-duty police officer, using a false passport to enter the U.S. and mortgage fraud.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 16, 2026
Defence lawyer Mohamed Sakr said in court that the order prohibiting Ahmed from assaulting, threatening, stalking or intimidating his father had been accepted without admissions, according to national broadcaster ABC.
From BBC ● Aug. 12, 2026
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
Also on Thursday, a second man, 50-year-old Matt Styler, of Gosport, pleaded not guilty to assaulting a police officer.
From BBC ● Jun. 6, 2026
French, British, and Belgian armies, meanwhile, were assaulting German defenses along the rest of the Western Front.
From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman
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Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
