assassin
noun
a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
assassin
American
[uh-sas-in]
/ əˈsæs ɪn /
noun
-
assassins
plural
-
a murderer, especially one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
-
(initial capital letter) one of an order of Muslim fanatics, active in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1272, whose chief object was to assassinate Crusaders.
Assassin
1
British
/ əˈsæsɪn /
noun
assassin
2
British
/ əˈsæsɪn /
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of assassin
1525–35; < Medieval Latin assassinī (plural) < Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish
Explanation
An assassin is someone who murders an important political or religious leader. Brutus is one of the most infamous assassins in history. He murdered Julius Caesar, who ruled Rome in the first century B.C. The word assassin, pronounced "uh-SASS-in," describes a person who murders a prominent person, like a political or religious leader. Often, this person is hired to kill, though he or she might act on personal motivations. To correctly spell assassin, remember that it has two double s's.
Vocabulary lists containing assassin
Language Gone Wrong: Words That Started Out as Errors
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Unit 1: Telling Details
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Workshop 4, Part 1
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
The big reveal in the opening of the film—which rivals a James Bond pre-credit sequence in longevity, action and skiing through the Alps—is that the ruthless assassin ruining everyone’s Austrian vacation is a woman.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 14, 2026
Don’t waste one brain cell trying to deduce the assassin.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 5, 2026
The Old Woman With the Knife is Gu Byeong-mo's story about Hornclaw, a legendary assassin in her 60s contemplating retirement while navigating loneliness.
From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2026
The actor who played the East German assassin on Bond’s tail wasn’t so fortunate.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 8, 2026
Kaltain watched in despair and bewilderment as Dorian carried the weeping assassin in his arms.
From "Throne of Glass" by Sarah J. Maas
If you trace in this event the origins of a similar scene in Alias Grace and also one in The Blind Assassin, you would be right.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 2, 2025
And she has staged a number of plays at the National over the past 25 years, most recently Kerry Jackson and The Father and the Assassin, both last year.
From BBC ● Dec. 12, 2023
Its counterpart imperial stout, Vanilla Bean Assassin, is ranked No. 2, while another offering called Mornin’ Delight is ranked in the top 10.
From Seattle Times ● Jul. 27, 2023
Assassin bugs, which belong to an insect family called Reduviidae, date at least as far back as the Jurassic.
From New York Times ● Jan. 19, 2021
The Assassin picked at the frayed cuff of her blouse.
From "The Reader" by Traci Chee
"This awoke not just Michoacan, but all of Mexico," she told AFP while surrounded by bodyguards to keep would-be assassins at bay.
From Barron's ● May 18, 2026
When asked why assassins keep targeting him, he answered, “I studied assassinations,” and suggested that “the people that make the biggest impact,” such as Abraham Lincoln, tend to be the targets.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 26, 2026
A nod of appreciation to those assassins who don't make it - Ballon d'Or-winner Andriy Shevchenko was close, Christian Vieri's highlights and world-record transfer fee came last century.
From BBC ● Mar. 3, 2026
Each day he and his fiancée Sarah would sit on a bench at the South Pasadena train stop and make up ridiculous stories about strangers, transforming average passers-by into assassins and cowboys.
From Salon ● Dec. 14, 2024
Halleck issued an order: If the assassins are caught, put them in double irons and take them to the commander of the Washington Navy Yard, who will confine them to a monitor warship anchored there.
From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
