At Common Law,
an intentional act by one person that creates an apprehension in another of an imminent harmful or offensive contact.
An assault is carried out by a threat of bodily harm coupled with an apparent, present ability to cause the harm. It is both a crime and a tort and, therefore, may result in either criminal or civil liability. Generally, the common law definition is the same in criminal and
Tort Law. There is, however, an additional
Criminal Law category of assault consisting of an attempted but unsuccessful
Battery.
Statutory definitions of assault in the various jurisdictions throughout the United States are not substantially different from the common-law definition.