hit man

noun

1
: a professional assassin who works for a crime syndicate
2

Examples of hit man in a Sentence

She hired a hit man to kill her ex-husband.
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.
His trial lasted seven weeks and included testimonies from some of his former hit men, including John Veasey, who helped to prove that Stanfa had directed a bloody campaign against Merlino, per UPI. Jordana Comiter, PEOPLE, 27 Oct. 2025 In Ben Wheatley's brilliant and blistering work, a British soldier returns home and embarks on a career as a hit man, finding strange little details while on his various jobs. Brian Truitt, USA Today, 21 Oct. 2025 In 2017, the Gardaí received a tip that the Kinahans had hired Imre Arakas, an Estonian hit man known as the Butcher, to murder James Gately, a member of the Hutch gang who lived in Belfast. Ed Caesar, New Yorker, 20 Oct. 2025 The film sends him on the run from the bosses involved in this vast conspiracy, and a hit man played by Max von Sydow. Lindsey Bahr, Mercury News, 18 Sep. 2025 See All Example Sentences for hit man

Word History

First Known Use

1963, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of hit man was in 1963

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Cite this Entry

“Hit man.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/hit%20man. Accessed 28 Oct. 2025.

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