hit man

noun

Updated on: 14 Apr 2018

Definition of hit man

1 : a professional assassin who works for a crime syndicate

2 : hatchet man

See hit man defined for English-language learners

Examples of hit man in a Sentence

She hired a hit man to kill her ex-husband.

Recent Examples of hit man from the Web

Jacob was specifically convicted of solicitation of capital murder for paying an undercover Houston police officer posing as a hit man in March 2017.

— fernando alfonso iii, Houston Chronicle, "The socialite scandals that rocked Houston," 11 Apr. 2018
The hit men arrived by motorcycle at high noon, stepped into the Toreo Restaurant and, without uttering a word, opened fire on Antonia Jaimes Moctezuma.

— patrick j. mcdonnell, latimes.com, "Widespread killings of candidates cast shadow over Mexican elections," 10 Apr. 2018
Joe is a victim of child abuse, a veteran with post-traumatic stress, and a professional hit man.

— dexter filkins, The New Yorker, "“You Were Never Really Here” and “A Quiet Place”," 30 Mar. 2018
An undercover detective posing as a hit man spoke to by phone Palmer, the agency said, who promised a car and partial payment in advance.

— jeff weiner, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Inmate offered $15K, sports car for hitman to kill victim in child molestation case, cops say," 7 Mar. 2018
McQueen filmed some of the chase scenes himself in the Warner Bros. classic that depicts a cop chasing hit men through the hills of San Francisco.

— phoebe wall howard, Detroit Free Press, "Ford shows off 2019 Mustang Bullitt, finds original 1968 Fastback at Detroit auto show," 14 Jan. 2018
No wonder the hit man decides that spending time with Gene, and his soaring lectures about how acting is truth, is way more fun than murdering people for a living.

— kristi turnquist, OregonLive.com, "Henry Winkler in Portland: On HBO's 'Barry,' and why he loved playing the Fonz," 28 Mar. 2018
Demographically, this decline hit men the hardest — both individual men and the collective male identity.

— jennifer carlson, Vox, "Why so many American men want to be the “good guy with a gun”," 23 Mar. 2018
But the hit man turned out to be an undercover cop.

— marc freeman, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Dalia Dippolito files appeal seeking fourth trial in murder-for-hire case," 8 Mar. 2018

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

First Known Use of hit man

1963

HIT MAN Defined for English Language Learners

hit man

noun

Definition of hit man for English Language Learners

: a person who is paid to kill someone

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Spanish Central: Translation of hit man

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hit man

Definition of hit man

Examples of hit man in a Sentence

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HIT MAN Defined for English Language Learners

hit man

Definition of hit man for English Language Learners

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