assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsa-sᵊn How to pronounce assassin (audio)
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

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
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
By the end, only one of the assassins is alive; Brian ties him to a tree and slaps him around a bit, demanding to know who hired him. Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 10 Oct. 2025 This isn’t a professional assassin. Patrick Brzeski, HollywoodReporter, 10 Oct. 2025 Struggling to survive in Prohibition Chicago, with the police on their tail and an Irish assassin hot on their tracks, the women resort to crime, selling bootleg liquor to the Irish mob. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 7 Oct. 2025 Utah taxpayers are on the hook for Charlie Kirk's alleged assassin's defense team, which has the potential to reach eight figures, criminal defense attorneys told Fox News Digital. Adam Sabes, FOXNews.com, 4 Oct. 2025 See All Example Sentences for assassin

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

Time Traveler
The first known use of assassin was circa 1520

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Cite this Entry

“Assassin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assassin. Accessed 15 Oct. 2025.

Kids Definition

assassin

noun
as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsas-ən How to pronounce assassin (audio)
: a person who kills another person
especially : one who murders a politically important person either for pay or from loyalty to a cause

More from Merriam-Webster on assassin

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