I. əˈsȯlt noun
( -s )
Etymology: Middle English assaut, from Old French asaut, assaut, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin assaltus, from assaltus, past participle of assalire to assail — more at assail
1. : a violent attack with physical means (as blows or weapons): as
a. : a military charge or onslaught especially against a walled or defended position
b. : the phase of an attack in which the attacker moves forward and by means of close combat seeks to eliminate enemy resistance and establish control of the objective
c. : a part of an offensive action in which close firing develops or may be expected to develop
an assault on beaches
assault troops
assault guns
2. : a violent attack with nonphysical weapons (as words, arguments, or appeals)
an assault upon science — W.L.Sullivan
an assault on his character
3.
a. : an apparently violent attempt or a willful offer with force or violence to do hurt to another without the actual doing of the hurt threatened (as by lifting the fist or a cane in a threatening manner) — compare assault and battery , battery 2b
b. : rape : indecent attack or overture forcibly effected
4. : a bout with foils, broadswords, or similar weapons
II. verb
( -ed/-ing/-s )
Etymology: Middle English assauten, from Middle French assauter, from (assumed) Vulgar Latin assaltare, from assaltus
transitive verb
1.
a. : to make an assault upon : rush violently and hostilely against : attack with strong violent onslaught
the soldiers were assaulting the castle
b. : to attack (a person) typically with brutal violence
a policeman assaulted by the mob
c. : to commit rape upon : subject to indecent attack
2. obsolete : tempt
3. : to attack violently by nonphysical means (as words, arguments, or unfriendly measures) : assail
assault the Constitution — J.B.Oakes
4. : to strike against violently
we assault our eyes with colors unknown in the natural world — T.F.Hamlin
: impinge upon
an ounce of fact is assaulted by a ton of footnotes — L.Ruth Middlebrook
intransitive verb
: to make an assault
within 50 yards of their objective they assaulted — Mack Morriss
Synonyms: see attack