assassin

noun

as·​sas·​sin ə-ˈsa-sᵊn 

plural assassins

1

: a person who commits murder

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

… the location of the victim's gunshot wounds … might point to a professional assassin.

—Wendy Fry

2

Assassin plural Assassins, history : a person belonging to a Shia Muslim sect during the time of the Crusades whose members were notorious for murdering prominent enemies

For a third of a century, no enemy of the Assassins had ever managed to elude them.

—Amin Maalouf

Synonyms of assassin

• murderer
• killer

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

English actress Comer is probably best known for her role as sociopathic assassin Villanelle on BBC America’s Killing Eve, which earned her an Emmy and BAFTA TV Award. —Nellie Andreeva, Deadline, 14 May 2026

As a refresher, the epic Yellowstone finale saw the Dutton family finally uncover how patriarch John Dutton was killed by an assassin hired by Jamie’s (Wes Bentley) girlfriend. —Monica Mercuri, Forbes.com, 14 May 2026

The film follows a unit of young assassins who belong to the titular organization, trained in a tropical rainforest by a figure known only as Master. —Naman Ramachandran, Variety, 12 May 2026

Luistro also cited threats made by the vice president during an online news conference in 2024 to have Marcos, his wife and Romualdez killed by an assassin if she herself was assassinated, as their political disputes escalated. —Jim Gomez, Los Angeles Times, 11 May 2026

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

• 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