assault

CEFRB2

/əˈsɒlt/

noun · verb

Türkçe translations

Translating…

In plain English

  1. 01

    noun

    A violent physical attack on someone.

  2. 02

    verb

    To attack someone physically or violently.

Examples

  • The middle aged man was charged with assault.

  • We were not prepared for the assault.

At a glance

Sits at B2 on the CEFR scale

Senses
5
Parts of speech
2
Citations
3
Synonyms
5

Deep Dive

noun

Extra meanings
  1. A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like

  2. 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.

  3. A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc.

More examples

In context
  • Both men were charged with assault.

  • She launched a written assault on the opposition party.

  • The army made an assault on the enemy.

Quick test

Two questions on this entry. Nothing is scored.

Question 1 · Quick check

The soldier led an blank on the enemy's heavily fortified base.

Practise this properly in the app, where the word comes back before you forget it.

Nearby

Origin

noun

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.