Civil Causes of Action - Assault and Battery Law & Legal Definition

An assault is any unlawful attempt or offer with force or violence to do bodily harm to another, whether from ill will or extreme carelessness; for example, by striking at or holding up the fist at a person in a threatening or insulting manner, or with other circumstances that evidence an intention, coupled with a present ability, of actual violence against the person, such as by pointing a weapon at him when he is within reach of it. When the injury is actually inflicted, it amounts to a battery.