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# assault

«assault» in Mova's school dictionary: **a violent attack on a person, or a threat to hurt them…** — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples.

### part of speech

noun (an assault, assaults; also uncountable); verb (assault, assaults, assaulted, assaulting)

### meaning for a pupil

1) (law) An assault is a violent attack on a person, or a threat to hurt them; it is a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#m1)

2) To assault someone is to attack them violently. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#m2)

3) (military) An assault is an attack by soldiers to capture a place. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#m3)

4) A strong attack or challenge of another kind: «an assault on the mountain», «an assault on the senses» (very strong sights, sounds and smells). [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#m4)

5) To assault someone with words is to attack them with harsh, rude talk. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#m5)

### sense in the lessons

Met in news, history (battles) and safety talks: hurting someone is assault, and it is against the law. In stories it tells the reader there is danger. Phrases: «charged with assault», «assault on», «an assault course» (UK, an obstacle course for training).

### examples

- The man was arrested for assault. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x1)
- Hitting someone can be assault, which is a crime. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x2)
- The soldiers launched an assault on the fort. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x3)
- The climbers made their assault on the summit at dawn. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x4)
- The market was an assault on the senses: colours, smells and noise. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x5)
- Our PE class did an assault course with ropes and walls. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x6)
- If anyone hurts you, tell a trusted adult or the police. [tree →](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/#x7)

### note

Countable and uncountable. Stress on the second part: a-SAULT. A serious word: if someone hits or threatens you, it is never your fault. «Assault course» (UK) = «obstacle course» (US).

### Trees and pragmatics

[Every meaning and example of «assault» parsed by Mova](https://md.mova.elamur.ai/free/en/corpora/dictionaries/school/A/assault/), each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.