assault weapon

noun

: any of various automatic or semiautomatic firearms

especially : assault rifle

Examples of assault weapon in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

That is when firearm sellers in California began offering unfinished receivers for the AR-15 and AK-47 series of guns, in an attempt to circumvent the state’s assault weapons laws, according to T. Christian Heyne of Brady, a gun violence prevention organization. —Annie Karni, New York Times, 26 Mar. 2025

Jean Robert Casimir, 52, who once served on the security team of a former Haiti National Police chief, was arrested in December after U.S. investigators traced two semi-automatic AR-15 assault weapons back to him. —Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 Mar. 2025

Nonetheless, the presence of automatic weapons – and Mexico’s homicide rate – has spiraled since 2005, following the expiration of the U.S. ban on assault weapons, experts say. —Whitney Eulich, The Christian Science Monitor, 4 Mar. 2025

According to Brady United, during the 10-year period the federal assault weapons ban was in effect, mass shooting fatalities were 70% less likely to occur. —Dp Opinion, The Denver Post, 3 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1968, in the meaning defined above