noun A violent onset or attack with physical means, for example blows, weapons, etc.
The army made an assault on the enemy.
noun A violent verbal attack, for example with insults, criticism, and the like
She launched a written assault on the opposition party.
noun An attempt to commit battery: a violent attempt, or willful effort with force or violence, to do hurt to another, but without necessarily touching the person, such as by raising a fist in a threatening manner, or by striking at the person and missing.
noun The crime whose action is such an attempt.
noun An act that causes someone to apprehend imminent bodily harm (such as brandishing a weapon).
noun The tort whose action is such an act.
noun A non-competitive combat between two fencers.
verb To attack, physically or figuratively; to assail.
Tom was accused of assaulting another man outside a nightclub.