ninjas

Noun

ninja (plural ninja or ninjas)

1. (historical) One trained in ninjutsu, especially one used for espionage, assassination, and other tasks requiring stealth during Japan's shogunate period.
   • He used to work in the Japanese agency as a ninja.

   Synonyms:

   assassin, shinobi, spy

2. (figuratively) One who very skillful, considered similar to the historical ninja, especially in covert or stealthy operation.
   • For months the Japanese spoke of national-security adviser Henry Kissinger as a ninja—the magician of Japanese legends who performs supernatural acts and practices sorcery.1972 September 11, Newsweek, Int'l edition, page 28

   Synonyms:

   killer, spy, superspy, magician, secret agent

   1. (figuratively, in plural, slang) 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.
      • I had TOTK running on my pc 2 weeks before it released on the switch and I'm still here. They can send the ninjas, I'm waiting.2024 January 23, @tetsuo_88, X (post)
   2. (dated, figuratively, informal) A programmer or tech worker, particularly one skilled in a particular programming language or environment; used especially in job adverts.
      • A ninja developer can take advantage of this when building large software systems, adding a bit of C# and a dabble of Python.2008, MSDN Magazine
3. (figuratively) One who is considered to resemble the historical ninja in some way.
   • He immediately suspected they were ninjas because, he said, they were dressed in black and wore masks, trademarks of the mysterious assassins who have been sowing terror across East Java in recent months.1998 December 28, Chicago Tribune, page 1
   1. (figuratively, historical, slang) An amateur private miner in Mongolia.
      • Many were former nomads, but as the gold rush gathered pace, students, vets and taxi drivers from Ulan Bator joined the ninjas, not just in Ogoomor but in other gold towns across the country.2007 October 10, Jonathan Watts, “Prospectors and 'Ninja' Miners Flood to East's El Dorado”, in Alan Rusbridger, editor, The Guardian, London: Guardian News & Media, →ISSN, →OCLC

See all 14 meanings of ninja