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ninja

ninja

270 6.5
A person trained to move, spy, and fight quietly for secret missions
  • noun
  • /ˈnɪndʒə/
: ninja
  • Look at him, he landed like a ninja.
  • ninja skills
  • ninja assassin
  • ninja warrior

But but since they're ninjas, maybe they already have.

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Examples

  • She moved through the dark room like a ninja, barely making a sound.

  • So I lugged the microwave back, snuck like a ninja to my room, and hit the hay.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • You thought, perhaps, an experienced ninja... ...would not be ready for you.

  • My impression of Tim Cook is that he is a ninja as an execution kind of person.

    Blog text (8)
  • We weren't expecting that kind of ninja move out of this guy.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • She has the skills to be a ninja superstar.

  • I had determined to be her secret guardian, silent and unseen as any ninja.

    Fiction book (2002)
  • He's a ninja.

  • You're like a ninja.

  • You are part ninja, part science whiz, part wilderness survivalist, all rolled into a supreme supersoldier.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

shinobi
vsninja
1 9.9

A secret agent from old Japan who spies and moves in silence

is a broader modern term also used for highly skilled people in secretive tasks

Antonyms

132 2.8

A person who does an activity like a sport or hobby for pleasure, not as a job

51 3.4

A person new to an activity who has little experience

Idioms

like a ninja
  • Informal
4 8.2

To move very quietly and with skill so no one notices

Compounds

1 4.0

A phone game where you swipe the screen to cut flying fruit while avoiding bombs

mall ninja
  • Offensive
1 9.9

A person who acts like a trained fighter to show off in stores or online

ginger ninja
  • Slang
8.7

A quick, skilled person with red hair admired for clever moves

Having a style that looks like ninjas, such as a costume

How Skilled

master
527 4.2
ninja
270 6.5
expert
165 3.5
practitioner
108 4.0
novice
51 3.4

Surface Forms

ninja singular
ninjas plural

Etymology

The word ninja comes from Japanese parts nin meaning 'to endure' or 'hide' and -ja meaning 'person', so it originally meant a 'hidden person' who works in secret. That's why today a ninja is a quiet, secret fighter or, more generally, someone very skilled and secretive.