1
a
: a violent physical or verbal attack
b
: a military attack usually involving direct combat with enemy forces
an assault on the enemy's air base
c
: a concerted effort (as to reach a goal or defeat an adversary)
an assault on drug trafficking
2
law
a
: a threat or attempt to inflict offensive physical contact or bodily harm on a person (as by lifting a fist in a threatening manner) that puts the person in immediate danger of or in apprehension (see apprehension sense 1) of such harm or contact compare battery sense 1b
assaulted; assaulting; assaults
1
: to make an assault on : to attack violently
assaulted a police officer
2
: rape sense 1
The victim was sexually assaulted.
: to make an assault
assaulter
noun
Synonyms
Examples of assault in a Sentence
Noun
She was injured in a brutal assault.
attended a class teaching women self-defense against assault
Verb
He was arrested for assaulting a police officer.
She verbally assaulted one of her coworkers.
Enemy forces assaulted the city.
Recent Examples on the Web
Jacky Wong, WSJ, 6 Feb. 2023
Zelenskyy has warned for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.
—Reuters, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2023
Phil Helsel, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2024
According to reports, Buckshot was assaulted last Thursday (Oct. 31), in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for assault 
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
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Noun
Beijing has also softened its regulatory assault on Chinese technology companies and the property sector.
—Jacky Wong, WSJ, 6 Feb. 2023
Zelenskyy has warned for weeks that Moscow aims to step up its assault after about two months of virtual stalemate along the front line that stretches across the south and east.
—Reuters, NBC News, 31 Jan. 2023
Verb
He was arrested in Savannah and is charged with felony counts of assaulting, resisting, or impeding certain officers, and obstruction of law enforcement, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Washington, D.C., said in a statement.
—Phil Helsel, NBC News, 15 Nov. 2024
According to reports, Buckshot was assaulted last Thursday (Oct. 31), in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn.
—Preezy Brown, VIBE.com, 5 Nov. 2024
See all Example Sentences for assault
Dictionary Entries Near assault
Cite this Entry
“Assault.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assault. Accessed 29 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationLegal Definition
assault
1 of 2 noun
as·sault
ə-ˈsȯlt 
1
: the crime or tort of threatening or attempting to inflict immediate offensive physical contact or bodily harm that one has the present ability to inflict and that puts the victim in fear of such harm or contact compare battery
2
: the crime of assault accompanied by battery
specifically
: sexual assault in this entry
called also assault and battery
—
aggravated assault
: a criminal assault accompanied by aggravating factors: as
a
: a criminal assault that is committed with an intent to cause or that causes serious bodily injury especially through the use of a dangerous weapon
b
: a criminal assault accompanied by the intent to commit or the commission of a felony (as rape) compare simple assault in this entry
—
assault with intent
: a criminal assault committed with the intent to commit another specified crime
assault with intent to rob assault with intent to kill
—
civil assault
: an assault considered as a tort rather than as a crime compare criminal assault in this entry
—
criminal assault
: an assault considered as a crime rather than as a tort compare civil assault in this entry
Note: An assault may be both a criminal assault and a civil assault.
—
felonious assault
: a criminal assault that is classified as a felony and involves the infliction of serious bodily injury by the use of a dangerous weapon
—
indecent assault
: intentional offensive sexual contact that does not amount to sexual intercourse or involve penetration and that is committed without consent of the victim and without the intent to commit rape
—
sexual assault
: sexual contact usually that is forced upon a person without consent or inflicted upon a person who is incapable of giving consent (as because of age or physical or mental incapacity) or who places the assailant (as a doctor) in a position of trust see also rape
Note: Sexual assault in its most serious forms (often classified as first degree sexual assault) involves nonconsensual sexual penetration. In its less serious forms it may be the equivalent of statutory rape.
—
simple assault
: a criminal assault that is not accompanied by any aggravating factors (as infliction of serious injury or use of a dangerous weapon) compare aggravated assault in this entry
Note: Simple assault is usually classified as a misdemeanor.
assault
2 of 2 transitive verb
: to make an assault on
specifically
: to subject to a sexual assault
: to make an assault
Etymology
Noun
Old French assaut, literally, attack, ultimately from Latin assultus, from assilire to leap (on), attack
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