assault weapon

noun

Definition of assault weapon

: any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms especially : assault rifle

Examples of assault weapon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Brave teachers and students sacrificed their safety — and their lives — to save others while the cops waited long enough for Cruz to abandon his assault weapon, mingle with evacuating students and flee. — Fabiola Santiago, miamiherald, "Want a big raise, BSO cops? Next school shooting, act with competence, not cowardice. | Miami Herald," 26 Apr. 2018 Foster was arrested and charged with domestic violence, forcefully attempting to prevent a victim from reporting a crime, and possessing an assault weapon, all of which are felonies. — Geoffrey C. Arnold, OregonLive.com, "San Francisco 49ers say they will cut Reuben Foster if it's proven he punched woman," 24 Apr. 2018 But Bell opposes banning assault weapons, such as the AR-15 used to kill 17 people in Parkland, Florida. — Anchorage Daily News, "I sat down with my old political foe to talk about guns. Here’s what we agreed on.," 23 Feb. 2018 In terms of legislation, Democrats have pressed tighter background checks on gun sales, ‘no fly, no buy,’ which would prohibit people on the airplane ‘no fly’ list from buying weapon, along with other ideas like a ban on certain assault weapons. — Jamie Dupree, AJC.com, "After Florida school shooting, Democrats in Congress plead for action on gun violence," 15 Feb. 2018 The American Medical Association voted at its 2018 annual meeting to support aggressive gun control policies, including a ban on assault weapons. — Eric Bangeman, Ars Technica, "Talk amongst yourselves: 2018’s most-commented stories on Ars," 24 Dec. 2018 My family sharply remembers this period, when streets once filled with hope began to harbor masked men carrying assault weapons, who terrorized citizens in their homes. — Ahmed Ahmed, Washington Post, "A former Somali refugee warns: Trump’s travel ban is creating a more perfect division," 29 June 2018 After the February shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School, the President discussed proposals including arming teachers, stricter background checks and raising the minimum age for buying assault weapons, none of which have come to fruition. — Juana Summers, CNN, "Federal school safety commission's first field visit focuses on school climate," 31 May 2018 Wilson thinks universal background checks are a no-brainer and wants to ban assault weapons, as well as restrict the size of high-capacity magazines. — Jasper Scherer, San Antonio Express-News, "‘Comfortable in her own skin’: Mary Wilson bids to become the first lesbian Baptist pastor in Congress," 15 May 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'assault weapon.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

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Last Updated

20 Jan 2019

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The first known use of assault weapon was in 1966

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