a murderer, esp one who kills a prominent political figure
WordReference Random House Learner's Dictionary of American English © 2026
as•sas•sin /əˈsæsɪn/USA pronunciation
n. [countable]
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026- someone who murders for hire or from fanaticism.
as•sas•sin
(ə sas′in),USA pronunciation n.
- a murderer, esp. one who kills a politically prominent person for fanatical or monetary reasons.
- World History(cap.) one of an order of Muslim fanatics, active in Persia and Syria from about 1090 to 1272, whose chief object was to assassinate Crusaders.
- Arabic ḥashshāshīn eaters of hashish
- Medieval Latin assassinī (plural)
- 1525–35
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'hired assassin' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):