hit man

noun

Definition of hit mannext
1
as in torpedo

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2
as in hired gun

Related Words

Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of hit man The prosecutors described a pyramid of murder and impunity with Duterte at the apex, police and civilian officials in the middle, and low-level policemen, police assets, and hit men at the bottom. — Sheila Coronel, The Atlantic, 13 Mar. 2026 Dust Bunny is the story of a young girl who asks Mikkelsen's character, a hit man, to take care of a monster under her bed. — Raechal Shewfelt, Entertainment Weekly, 28 Jan. 2026 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 See All Example Sentences for hit man
Recent Examples of Synonyms for hit man
  1. torpedo
  2. hired gun
  3. murderer
  4. hatchet man
  5. assassin
Noun
  • The reason this sandwich has won my heart more than others in the city is the torpedo of bread they’re tucked into, which sighs and crackles, an entire universe of complexity and depth in its crumb.
    — Helen Rosner, New Yorker, 1 Nov. 2026
  • Their forces tested several anti-ship weapons before a submarine torpedo sent the vessel to the seabed.
    — Atharva Gosavi, Interesting Engineering, 29 Sep. 2026
Definition of torpedo
Noun
  • That would be impressive enough, but don’t forget that year’s edition of the team also had UFA hired guns Luc Robitaille and Brett Hull.
    — Sean McIndoe, New York Times, 7 Apr. 2026
  • Every four years, ambitious consultants and hired guns sit down with aspiring presidents and sell them a lie.
    — Philip Elliott, Time, 17 Aug. 2023
Definition of hired gun
Noun
  • More than 40 years later, no efforts have been made to prosecute or extradite the presumptive murderers.
    — David Ehrlich, IndieWire, 30 Oct. 2026
  • Alongside her scientifically credible poisoning scenarios, numerous doctors and pharmacists appear in Christie’s novels — sometimes as victims, other times as murderers — showing how her early brushes with the world of medicine never left her mind.
    — Ashley Strickland, CNN Money, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of murderer
Noun
  • While he was sent by the White House to be a hatchet man, Oz, a cardiothoracic surgeon, should use a scalpel with care, conducting a real, legitimate probe that seeks ways to save money for taxpayers and improve outcomes for patients.
    — New York Daily News Editorial Board, New York Daily News, 13 Mar. 2026
  • In 2010, the duo separated, going opposite directions; Malice sought repentance through the church while Pusha became a hatchet man for Kanye West.
    — Richard Brody, New Yorker, 19 Dec. 2025
Definition of hatchet man
Noun
  • The explosion killed him and fourteen others in his vicinity, as well as the assassin, and injured another forty-three.
    — Sonia Gandhi, Vanity Fair, 10 Nov. 2026
  • Martin McDonagh’s latest comedy drama casts Malkovich as Chris Carlisle, a dying CIA assassin who in 1973 is visiting Chile’s Easter Island with a protégé, played by Sam Rockwell, who just may kill his mentor before their getaway is over.
    — The Week US, TheWeek, 10 Nov. 2026
Definition of assassin

Browse Nearby Words

hit it off
hit man
hit men
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Cite this Entry

“Hit man.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/hit%20man. Accessed 12 Nov. 2026.

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