HOW TO PRONOUNCE
assault
/əˈsɔlt/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:03
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What does assault mean?
noun
- A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc.
- A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like
- 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.
More meanings (6)
noun
- 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.
verb
- To attack, physically or figuratively; to assail.
- To threaten or harass.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/əˈsɔlt/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
The parts being thus distributed to the leaders, they commenced the first assault, of which the reader has already heard the issue.
The anchor had scarcely caught the sandy bottom when five hundred boats surrounded the Atlanta, and the steamer was taken by assault.
More book examples (3)
When it is perceived, from the slackening of their fire, that they have no more powder and ball, the assault is made.
It was these lines that raised the ire of Byron, who regarded them as an irreverent assault upon his favorite poet, Pope.
The turn-outs next proceeded to assault the new hands, when Mr. Walter resolved to throw around them the protection of the law.