assault.
A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc.
Meaning & usage
A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc.
The army made an assault on the enemy.
A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like
She launched a written assault on the opposition party.
An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching the person, such as by raising a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at the person and missing.
The crime whose action is such an attempt.
An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm (such as brandishing a weapon).
The tort whose action is such an act.
A non-competitive combat between two fencers.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English assaut, from Old French noun assaut, derived from the past participle of the verb assalir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“at, towards”) + salīre (“jump”). See also assail. Spelling Latinized around 1530 to add an l.
To attack, physically or figuratively; to assail.
Tom was accused of assaulting another man outside a nightclub.
Loud music assaulted our ears as we entered the building.
To threaten or harass.
Where this word comes from
From Middle English assaut, from Old French noun assaut, derived from the past participle of the verb assalir, from Late Latin assalīre, from Latin ad (“at, towards”) + salīre (“jump”). See also assail. Spelling Latinized around 1530 to add an l.
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Definitions, grammatical labels, IPA, etymology and examples: Wiktionary contributors, extracted by Kaikki / Wiktextract. Adapted under CC BY-SA 4.0. Selected fields and authored examples are shown; third-party quotations and audio are omitted. See contributor history.
Last enriched 2026-09-10. Definitions are in English. Romanizations are shown when supplied by the source; syllable estimates are omitted for unsupported scripts.