assault rifle: Meaning and Definition of

assault' ri"fle

Pronunciation: [key]
  1. a military rifle capable of both automatic and semiautomatic fire, utilizing an intermediate-power cartridge.
  2. a nonmilitary weapon modeled on the military assault rifle, usu. modified to allow only semiautomatic fire.
Random House Unabridged Dictionary, Copyright © 1997, by Random House, Inc., on Infoplease.