assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsa-sᵊn 

1

: a person who commits murder

especially : one who murders a politically important person either for money or from fanatical adherence to a cause

2

Assassin : a member of a Shia Muslim sect who at the time of the Crusades was sent out on a suicidal mission to murder prominent enemies

Synonyms

• cutthroat
• homicide
• killer
• manslayer
• murderer

Examples of assassin in a Sentence

John Wilkes Booth was the assassin of Abraham Lincoln.

shot down by an unknown assassin

Recent Examples on the Web

Alpha Slow Horse agent River Cartwright (Jack Lowden) unravels the connection between himself and the former CIA operative-turned-mercenary (Hugo Weaving) who’s raised an entire brood of psychopathic assassins. —Hugh Hart, Los Angeles Times, 17 June 2025

Yvette Hoffman had thrown herself on their adult daughter, shielding her from the assassin’s bullets, CNN affiliate KARE reported, citing her nephew. —Dakin Andone, CNN Money, 16 June 2025

Carey plays the role of the relentless assassin well. —Larisha Paul, Rolling Stone, 16 June 2025

His likeness is shared alongside memes depicting Nintendo's Luigi character as a stylized assassin—ironic, cartoonish, but deadly serious. —Jesus Mesa, MSNBC Newsweek, 11 June 2025

Word History

Etymology

Medieval Latin assassinus, from Arabic ḥashshāshīn, plural of ḥashshāsh worthless person, literally, hashish user, from hashīsh hashish

First Known Use

circa 1520, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Phrases Containing assassin

• assassin bug

Rhymes for assassin

• unfasten
• bason
• casson
• fasten
• cytochalasin
• diapason

Kids Definition

assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsas-ən 

: a person who kills another person

especially : one who murders a politically important person either for pay or from loyalty to a cause