assault: Meaning and Definition of

as•sault

1. a sudden, violent attack; onslaught: an assault on tradition.
2. an unlawful physical attack upon another; an attempt or offer to do violence to another, with or without battery, as by holding a stone or club in a threatening manner.
3. the stage of close combat in an attack.
4. rape.

1. to make an assault upon; attack; assail.