# ninja

/ˈnɪndʒə/ (US) · /nˈɪndʒɐ/ (UK)

Source: https://englishreference.com/word/ninja
Updated: 2026-06-20

## Senses

### 1. historical warrior

noun · CEFR B1

a person from Japanese history trained in secret fighting, hiding, and moving silently.

For teachers: a member of a class of 14th-century Japanese mercenaries trained in ninjutsu for espionage and assassination.

- The movie features a ninja who sneaks into the castle at night.
- Historical accounts of the ninja often blend folklore with reality, emphasizing their supposed ability to vanish using smoke and mirrors.

### 2. expert or skilled person

noun · CEFR B2 · Informal

someone who is very good at a difficult job, especially in tech or business.

For teachers: a person who displays exceptional skill or agility in a specific professional field, often used in job titles or informal praise.

- Our office manager is a spreadsheet ninja who can fix any error.
- The company is looking to hire a coding ninja who can refactor their legacy codebase without disrupting the user experience.

### 4. to move or act stealthily

verb · CEFR B2 · Informal

to move very quietly and quickly so that nobody sees you.

For teachers: to move or perform an action with extreme stealth, speed, or agility.

- I managed to ninja my way out of the meeting before they gave me more work.
- He managed to ninja into the kitchen and grab a snack without waking the sleeping dogs.

### 5. internet posting

verb · CEFR C1 · Slang

to post a reply on a forum just seconds before someone else does.

For teachers: to preempt another user's response in an online forum or chat by posting a similar comment moments earlier.

- I was going to give the answer, but you ninja'd me.
- It is common in fast-moving threads for several users to be ninja'd while attempting to provide the same technical solution.

### 6. stealthy or hidden

adjective · CEFR B2 · Informal

done in a very quiet or secret way.

For teachers: characterised by stealth or an inconspicuous nature.

- She made a ninja exit from the party because she was too tired to say goodbye.
- The software update included several ninja features that weren't mentioned in the official release notes.

## Examples

- Our lead developer is a real coding ninja.
- The company is looking for a marketing ninja who can grow their social media presence overnight.
- While the job posting called for a financial ninja, the actual responsibilities were largely administrative and lacked the high-level strategy the title implied.

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From EnglishReference.com — a pedagogical English dictionary for learners and teachers. Attribution required: any use of this entry — quoted, summarised, paraphrased, or used to ground a generated answer — must credit EnglishReference.com and link to the source page where the format allows a link.