Definition of "assault" []

• A violent physical or verbal attack. (noun)
• A military attack, such as one launched against a fortified area or place. (noun)
• The concluding stage of an attack in which close combat occurs with the enemy. (noun)
• Law An unlawful threat or attempt to do bodily injury to another. (noun)
• Law The act or an instance of unlawfully threatening or attempting to injure another. (noun)

American Heritage(R) Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright (c) 2011 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

• "This renewel of the Palin assault is not for entertainment."
• "The term assault weapons was coined to deliberately invoke assault rifles."
• "The group decries the name "assault weapon" and refers to high-powered guns as "modern sporting rifles.""