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assault and battery

noun

The combination of two violent crimes: assault (the threat of violence) and battery (physical violence). This legal distinction exists only in jurisdictions that distinguish assault as threatened violence rather than actual violence.

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Meanings

nounassault and battery (countable and uncountable, plural assaults and batteries)

plural assaults and batteries

countableidiomaticuncountablelawThe combination of two violent crimes: assault (the threat of violence) and battery (physical violence). This legal distinction exists only in jurisdictions that distinguish assault as threatened violence rather than actual violence.

Synonyms & antonyms

nounan assault in which the assailant makes physical contact

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Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.

Cite this entry

APA

assault and battery. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 5, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/assault%20and%20battery

MLA

“assault and battery.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/assault%20and%20battery. Accessed November 5, 2026.

Chicago

WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “assault and battery,” accessed November 5, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/assault%20and%20battery.

Source: assault and battery on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.