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ninja

ninja

94 6.5
A person trained to move, spy, and fight quietly for secret missions
  • noun
  • /ˈnɪndʒə/
translation icon : 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

122 2.8

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

46 3.4

A person new to an activity who has little experience

Idioms

like a ninja
  • Informal
1 8.2

To move very quietly and with skill so no one notices

Compounds

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

mall ninja
  • Offensive
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
791 4.2
ninja
94 6.5
expert
3 3.5
practitioner
120 4.0
novice
46 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.