1
: a person who commits murder
especially
: one who murders a politically important person either for money or from fanatical adherence to a cause
2
Assassin
: a member of a Shia Muslim sect who at the time of the Crusades was sent out on a suicidal mission to murder prominent enemies
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
This stony assassin may well be orbiting the sun at this very moment, careening down a celestial path that could, one day, intersect with ours.
—
Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Police cars arrived within minutes and the assassin was arrested.
—Rachel Desantis, People.com, 22 Mar. 2025
Iran named a street in Tehran after Sadat’s assassin.
—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2025
His belief that Charlie was a programmed assassin, programmed by the government, programmed — most likely — by the CIA.
—Nick Newman, IndieWire, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for assassin
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Corinne Purtill, Los Angeles Times, 26 Mar. 2025
Police cars arrived within minutes and the assassin was arrested.
—Rachel Desantis, People.com, 22 Mar. 2025
Iran named a street in Tehran after Sadat’s assassin.
—Lisa Anderson, Foreign Affairs, 14 Mar. 2025
His belief that Charlie was a programmed assassin, programmed by the government, programmed — most likely — by the CIA.
—Nick Newman, IndieWire, 7 Mar. 2025
See All Example Sentences for assassin
Cite this Entry
“Assassin.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assassin. Accessed 31 Mar. 2025.
Copy CitationKids 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
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