assault rifle
noun
: any of various intermediate-range, magazine-fed military rifles (such as the AK-47) that can be set for automatic or semiautomatic fire
also
: a rifle that resembles a military assault rifle but is designed to allow only semiautomatic fire
Examples of assault rifle in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
One of the suspects was also armed with an assault rifle and the car was speeding at the time of the crash, McManus said.
—
Melina Khan, USA Today, 18 July 2025
Last July 13, just six minutes into Trump's speech to 15,000 fervent fans on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from an assault rifle while atop the roof of American Glass Research, some 150 yards away.
—Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
Nicola, played like a taut violin string by Embeth Davidtz (who also directed and adapted this story from Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name), sleeps cradling an assault rifle.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025
Brian Anthony Browning, of Romulus, was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle with more than a dozen magazines of ammunition, a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Wayne police said in a statement.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 23 June 2025
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Melina Khan, USA Today, 18 July 2025
Last July 13, just six minutes into Trump's speech to 15,000 fervent fans on the grounds of the Butler Farm Show, Thomas Matthew Crooks fired eight shots from an assault rifle while atop the roof of American Glass Research, some 150 yards away.
—Joshua Rhett Miller, MSNBC Newsweek, 13 July 2025
Nicola, played like a taut violin string by Embeth Davidtz (who also directed and adapted this story from Alexandra Fuller’s memoir of the same name), sleeps cradling an assault rifle.
—Los Angeles Times, 10 July 2025
Brian Anthony Browning, of Romulus, was armed with an AR-15-style assault rifle with more than a dozen magazines of ammunition, a semi-automatic handgun with an extended magazine and hundreds of rounds of ammunition, Wayne police said in a statement.
—Tim Stelloh, NBC news, 23 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for assault rifle
Cite this Entry
“Assault rifle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/assault%20rifle. Accessed 22 Jul. 2025.
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