adj
Meaning 1
Fast and sneaky.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: informal, not-comparable
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Standard Lemma guide
ninja
Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.
Sound
Pronunciation
Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.
-
UK, US: /ˈnɪnd͡ʒə/
-
US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
Southern-England: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
-
rhymes with -ɪndʒə
-
CMU ARPABET: N IH1 N JH AH0 Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.
adj
Meaning 2
Initialism of no income, no job or assets, describing credit characteristics of a borrower, usually of a residential mortgage.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: abbreviation, alt-of, initialism, not-comparable
Topics: business, finance
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 3
One trained in ninjutsu, especially one used for espionage, assassination, and other tasks requiring stealth during Japan's shogunate period.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: historical
Topics: government, hobbies, lifestyle, martial-arts, military, politics, sports, war
Examples
- He used to work in the Japanese agency as a ninja.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: assassin, shinobi, spy
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 4
One who very skillful, considered similar to the historical ninja, especially in covert or stealthy operation.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: killer, spy, superspy, magician, secret agent
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 5
One who very skillful, considered similar to the historical ninja, especially in covert or stealthy operation.
A notional draconian arm of a corporation (originally Nintendo), tasked with dealing with individuals that infringe on its rights or do not comply with its regulations.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, in-plural, slang
Topics: lifestyle, video-games
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: killer, spy, superspy, magician, secret agent
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 6
One who very skillful, considered similar to the historical ninja, especially in covert or stealthy operation.
A programmer or tech worker, particularly one skilled in a particular programming language or environment; used especially in job adverts.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: dated, figuratively, informal
Topics: computing, engineering, mathematics, natural-sciences, physical-sciences, sciences
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: killer, spy, superspy, magician, secret agent
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 7
One who is considered to resemble the historical ninja in some way.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 8
One who is considered to resemble the historical ninja in some way.
An amateur private miner in Mongolia.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: figuratively, historical, slang
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 9
Synonym of nigga, used as a friendly term of address.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: euphemistic
Qualifier: African-American Vernacular
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: nigga, used as a friendly term of address
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 10
Synonym of nigga, used as a friendly term of address.
Synonym of man; used as a friendly term of address.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: euphemistic
Qualifier: African-American Vernacular; Juggalo slang; Juggalo slang
Examples
- What up, my ninja!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: man
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 11
Synonym of nigger.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: ethnic, euphemistic, slur
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: nigger
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 12
An anti-government Bakongo rebel, active in Pool Department, Republic of the Congo (Congo-Brazzaville).
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 13
To act or move like a ninja, particularly with regard to a combination of speed, power, and stealth.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: ambitransitive
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 14
to beat someone to a post; to make the same reply just before the other party finishes typing, making their response redundant.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Internet
Examples
- When I hit post, I saw that Blue Emu had ninja'd me, so I just deleted my reply.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
verb
Meaning 15
To claim an item through abuse of game mechanics.
Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract
Usage: Internet, slang
Topics: games, gaming
Examples
- That damn warrior ninja'd an epic-quality wand even though he can't even use it!
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
noun
Meaning 16
a class of 14th century Japanese who were trained in martial arts and were hired for espionage and assassinations
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: class, stratum, social class, socio-economic class
noun
Meaning 17
a member of the ninja who were trained in martial arts and hired for espionage or sabotage or assassinations; a person skilled in ninjutsu
Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0
No example sentence was provided for this meaning.
Meaning relationships
Synonyms: none provided
Antonyms: none provided
Broader terms: mercenary, soldier of fortune
History
Etymology
Borrowed from Japanese 忍者 (ninja), of uncertain derivation but with an underlying sense of secret or hidden person. Popularized in Japanese by manga after World War II and in English by the 1980 novel The Ninja by Eric Van Lustbader and the 1981 movie Enter the Ninja Noun sense 3.1 (“Mongolian miner”) arose from the supposed resemblance of the bowls used to wash ore with mercury to the shells of the main characters from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The Juggalo slang sense arose via influence from AAVE nigga.
From ninja.
Across languages
Translations
61 source translations are retained for this English entry.
- Arabic: نِينْجَا (nīnjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Arabic: نِنْجَا (ninjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Armenian: նինջա (ninǰa) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Asturian: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Azerbaijani: nindza — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Bashkir: ниндзя (nindzya) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Basque: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Belarusian: ні́ндзя (níndzja) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Bulgarian: ни́нджа (níndža) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Catalan: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Cebuano: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Chinese: 忍者 (zh-min-nan) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Chinese Mandarin: 忍者 (rěnzhě) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Czech: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Danish: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Dutch: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Esperanto: ninĵo — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Finnish: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- French: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Galician: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Georgian: ნინძა (ninʒa) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- German: Ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Greek: νίντζα (níntza) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Hebrew: נִינְגָ׳ה (nínja) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Hindi: निंजा (niñjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Hindi: निञ्जा (niñjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Hungarian: nindzsa — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Icelandic: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Ido: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Indonesian: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Italian: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Japanese: 忍者 (ninja) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Japanese: 忍び (shinobi) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Japanese: 忍びの者 (shinobi no mono) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Javanese: shinobi — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Korean: 닌자 (ninja) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Macedonian: нинџа (nindža) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Malay: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Marathi: निंजा (niñjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Marathi: निनजा (ninjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Mazanderani: نینجا — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Mongolian: нинжа (ninža) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Norwegian Bokmål: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Iranian Persian: نینْجا (ninjâ) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Polish: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Portuguese: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Russian: ни́ндзя (níndzja) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Serbo-Croatian: ни̑нџа — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Serbo-Croatian: nȋndža — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Slovene: nindža — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Spanish: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Swedish: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Tamil: நிஞ்சா (niñcā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Telugu: నింజా (niñjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Thai: นินจา (nin-jaa) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Turkish: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Ukrainian: ні́ндзя (níndzja) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Urdu: نِنْجا (ninjā) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Vietnamese: ninja — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Vietnamese: nhẫn giả — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
- Yiddish: נינדזשאַ (nindzha) — spy and mercenary in pre-modern Japan
Real reading context