ambush

1 of 2

verb

am·bush ˈam-ˌbu̇sh How to pronounce ambush (audio)

ambushed; ambushing; ambushes

transitive verb

: to attack by surprise from a hidden place : waylay

Our troops ambushed the enemy units.

… his caravan that season had been ambushed and shot at twice on the way down …

Rudyard Kipling

: to station in ambush (see ambush entry 2 sense 2)

Mr and Mrs Fyne ambushed at their window—a most incredible occupation for people of their kind—saw with renewed anxiety a cab come to the door.

Joseph Conrad

intransitive verb

: to lie in wait : lurk

ambusher noun

ambushment

ˈam-ˌbu̇sh-mənt How to pronounce ambush (audio)

noun

ambush

2 of 2

noun

plural ambushes

: a trap in which one or more concealed attackers lie in wait to attack by surprise

soldiers caught in an ambush

Suddenly a shout comes down the line: "Contact front!" It's an ambush, with gunmen on both sides of the road.

Lev Grossman

… it is plain he must have been as stupid with weariness as myself, and looked as little where we were going, or we should not have walked into an ambush like blind men.

Robert Louis Stevenson

: the concealed position from which a surprise attack is made

a group of soldiers lying in ambush

… tanks alone are vulnerable to opposing infantry with antitank weapons, particularly at night when the infantry can more easily wait in ambush or approach unseen.

Neil Sheehan

also : an individual or group concealed for a surprise attack

All was then dead silence; for, loquacious as he was on other occasions, Captain Dalgetty knew well the necessity of an ambush keeping itself under covert.

Robert Burns

: the act of approaching or confronting someone with something unexpected

—often used before another noun

ambush journalism… did not return calls or e-mails and was hostile when a television crew conducted an ambush interview several years ago.

Neely Tucker

Example Sentences

Verb We have reports of enemy soldiers ambushing civilians on this road. the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king Noun Many soldiers were killed in the ambush. The soldiers were lying in ambush, waiting for the enemy to approach. a snake waiting in ambush for its next meal

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

In May 2020, federal agents arrested an Ohio man as part of a plot to ambush and kill police officers, The Daily Beast reported.

Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 15 Aug. 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion.

Patrick J. Mcdonnell And Nabih Bulos, Anchorage Daily News, 5 June 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion.

Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022 These predators can ambush prey as large as deer, kangaroos, cattle and wild buffalo.

Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 May 2022 In other videos, Toby Wilson is seen constantly looking over his shoulder, armed with a pool noodle, to check if Cosmo is about to ambush him.

Ariana Garcia, Chron, 16 June 2022

Noun

My mind swirled with the possibilities of another ambush.

Kyle Casey Chu, Vogue, 1 July 2022 Flanagan was live-streaming at the time of the ambush, which also killed Alison's cameraman, 27-year-old Adam Ward.

Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 24 Feb. 2022 According to officials, the first officer seriously injured by the first ambush of gunfire has been released from the hospital, and is now recovering at home.

Brock Blasdell, The Arizona Republic, 17 Feb. 2022 So says the new city council member who represents the Harlem district where the shocking ambush of two of the NYPD's finest occurred Friday night.

Eric Shawn, Fox News, 24 Jan. 2022 Iranian media and officials have reported conflicting accounts of the midday Friday ambush of Fakhrizadeh and his security team.

Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2020 There’s the scene with the ambush in Vietnam, and Bob Zemeckis originally wanted Forrest to be confused and run away.

David Marchese, New York Times, 10 June 2022 Sheriff John Hunt fought back tears while saying goodbye to his longtime friend, William Petry, one of three law enforcement officers killed in an ambush while serving a warrant in eastern Kentucky last week.

Dylan Lovan, ajc, 5 July 2022 So police originally said the shooting was an ambush that the police showed up.

Laura Johnston, cleveland, 14 July 2022 See More

Word History

Etymology

Verb

Middle English enbuschen "to place in hiding in order to attack by surprise, to hide (oneself) in order to attack by surprise," borrowed from Anglo-French embuscher "to place (in the woods) in order to attack by surprise, conceal, lie in wait to attack by surprise" (also continental Old French [Normandy & Picardy] embuschier, Picard dialect embusquier), from em- em- + -buscher, verbal derivative of Picard bus, busc "forest, grove," going back to Old Low Franconian *būska-, going back to Germanic, ablaut variant of *buska- "bush, thicket" — more at bush entry 1

Note: Forms with initial am- instead of em-, which first appear in the noun in the sixteenth century and the verb in the seventeenth century, are of uncertain origin. Given the earlier use in nouns, their appearance may be a by-product of shift of stress to the initial syllable. The suggestion in the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, that the change is due to association with ambage, does not seem very likely. — The meaning "forest, grove" attached to *būska-, whence the Picard masculine noun bus, busc, receded early before a Gallo-Romance derivative *buska, a re-formation of the Germanic etymon as a neuter collective plural noun, taken as feminine, whence Old French busche "piece of firewood," French bûche. This new formation, also with results in Occitan and Upper Italian dialects, represents a sense shift from "bush, thicket" to "wood collected for a fire" to "split piece of wood, splinter." For a detailed discussion of Romance and Germanic outcomes of būska- see Johannes Hubschmied, "Romanisch-germanische Wortprobleme I. Zur Geschichte von bois, bûche (mit Berücksichtigung der Ortsnamen)," Vox Romanica, Band 29 (1970), pp. 114-16. Within the framework of Germanic and Indo-European ablaut patterns as now understood, a lengthened grade *būska- is questionable, and one might have to appeal to variation of expressive vocabulary within Germanic. Hubschmid, however, works within J. Pokorny's framework, where an Indo-European root with a very general meaning and form, *beu-, *b^heu-, *b^heuə- "to swell," is subject to an indefinite number of ablaut variants and root extensions.

Noun

earlier enbusshe, borrowed from Middle French embusche, embusque, noun derivative of embuschier "to place (in the woods) in order to attack by surprise" — more at ambush entry 1

Note: For the initial am- in place of em- see note at ambush entry 1

First Known Use

Verb

14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

单词	ambushes
释义	ambush 1 of 2 verb am·bush ˈam-ˌbu̇sh ambushed; ambushing; ambushes transitive verb 1 : to attack by surprise from a hidden place : waylay Our troops ambushed the enemy units. … his caravan that season had been ambushed and shot at twice on the way down … Rudyard Kipling 2 : to station in ambush (see ambush entry 2 sense 2) Mr and Mrs Fyne ambushed at their window—a most incredible occupation for people of their kind—saw with renewed anxiety a cab come to the door. Joseph Conrad intransitive verb : to lie in wait : lurk ambusher noun ambushment ˈam-ˌbu̇sh-mənt noun ambush 2 of 2 noun plural ambushes 1 : a trap in which one or more concealed attackers lie in wait to attack by surprise soldiers caught in an ambush Suddenly a shout comes down the line: "Contact front!" It's an ambush, with gunmen on both sides of the road. Lev Grossman … it is plain he must have been as stupid with weariness as myself, and looked as little where we were going, or we should not have walked into an ambush like blind men. Robert Louis Stevenson 2 : the concealed position from which a surprise attack is made a group of soldiers lying in ambush … tanks alone are vulnerable to opposing infantry with antitank weapons, particularly at night when the infantry can more easily wait in ambush or approach unseen. Neil Sheehan also : an individual or group concealed for a surprise attack All was then dead silence; for, loquacious as he was on other occasions, Captain Dalgetty knew well the necessity of an ambush keeping itself under covert. Robert Burns 3 : the act of approaching or confronting someone with something unexpected —often used before another noun ambush journalism… did not return calls or e-mails and was hostile when a television crew conducted an ambush interview several years ago. Neely Tucker Synonyms Verb ambuscade surprise surprize waylay Noun ambuscade ambushment surprise surprize trap See all Synonyms & Antonyms Example Sentences Verb We have reports of enemy soldiers ambushing civilians on this road. the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king Noun Many soldiers were killed in the ambush. The soldiers were lying in ambush, waiting for the enemy to approach. a snake waiting in ambush for its next meal Recent Examples on the Web Verb In May 2020, federal agents arrested an Ohio man as part of a plot to ambush and kill police officers, The Daily Beast reported. Bryan Schott, The Salt Lake Tribune, 15 Aug. 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. Patrick J. Mcdonnell And Nabih Bulos, Anchorage Daily News, 5 June 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. Patrick J. Mcdonnell And Nabih Bulos, Anchorage Daily News, 5 June 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. Patrick J. Mcdonnell And Nabih Bulos, Anchorage Daily News, 5 June 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. Patrick J. Mcdonnell And Nabih Bulos, Anchorage Daily News, 5 June 2022 Gone are the lumbering columns of tanks plodding through enemy territory that stretched supply lines and proved vulnerable to ambush in Russia’s disastrous attack on Kyiv at the beginning of the invasion. Los Angeles Times, 4 June 2022 These predators can ambush prey as large as deer, kangaroos, cattle and wild buffalo. Margaret Osborne, Smithsonian Magazine, 17 May 2022 In other videos, Toby Wilson is seen constantly looking over his shoulder, armed with a pool noodle, to check if Cosmo is about to ambush him. Ariana Garcia, Chron, 16 June 2022 Noun My mind swirled with the possibilities of another ambush. Kyle Casey Chu, Vogue, 1 July 2022 Flanagan was live-streaming at the time of the ambush, which also killed Alison's cameraman, 27-year-old Adam Ward. Chris Harris, PEOPLE.com, 24 Feb. 2022 According to officials, the first officer seriously injured by the first ambush of gunfire has been released from the hospital, and is now recovering at home. Brock Blasdell, The Arizona Republic, 17 Feb. 2022 So says the new city council member who represents the Harlem district where the shocking ambush of two of the NYPD's finest occurred Friday night. Eric Shawn, Fox News, 24 Jan. 2022 Iranian media and officials have reported conflicting accounts of the midday Friday ambush of Fakhrizadeh and his security team. Miriam Berger, Washington Post, 30 Nov. 2020 There’s the scene with the ambush in Vietnam, and Bob Zemeckis originally wanted Forrest to be confused and run away. David Marchese, New York Times, 10 June 2022 Sheriff John Hunt fought back tears while saying goodbye to his longtime friend, William Petry, one of three law enforcement officers killed in an ambush while serving a warrant in eastern Kentucky last week. Dylan Lovan, ajc, 5 July 2022 So police originally said the shooting was an ambush that the police showed up. Laura Johnston, cleveland, 14 July 2022 See More Word History Etymology Verb Middle English enbuschen "to place in hiding in order to attack by surprise, to hide (oneself) in order to attack by surprise," borrowed from Anglo-French embuscher "to place (in the woods) in order to attack by surprise, conceal, lie in wait to attack by surprise" (also continental Old French [Normandy & Picardy] embuschier, Picard dialect embusquier), from em- em- + -buscher, verbal derivative of Picard bus, busc "forest, grove," going back to Old Low Franconian būska-, going back to Germanic, ablaut variant of buska- "bush, thicket" — more at bush entry 1 Note: Forms with initial am- instead of em-, which first appear in the noun in the sixteenth century and the verb in the seventeenth century, are of uncertain origin. Given the earlier use in nouns, their appearance may be a by-product of shift of stress to the initial syllable. The suggestion in the Oxford English Dictionary, third edition, that the change is due to association with ambage, does not seem very likely. — The meaning "forest, grove" attached to būska-, whence the Picard masculine noun bus, busc,* receded early before a Gallo-Romance derivative buska, a re-formation of the Germanic etymon as a neuter collective plural noun, taken as feminine, whence Old French busche* "piece of firewood," French bûche. This new formation, also with results in Occitan and Upper Italian dialects, represents a sense shift from "bush, thicket" to "wood collected for a fire" to "split piece of wood, splinter." For a detailed discussion of Romance and Germanic outcomes of būska- see Johannes Hubschmied, "Romanisch-germanische Wortprobleme I. Zur Geschichte von bois, bûche (mit Berücksichtigung der Ortsnamen)," Vox Romanica, Band 29 (1970), pp. 114-16. Within the framework of Germanic and Indo-European ablaut patterns as now understood, a lengthened grade būska- is questionable, and one might have to appeal to variation of expressive vocabulary within Germanic. Hubschmid, however, works within J. Pokorny's framework, where an Indo-European root with a very general meaning and form, beu-, b^heu-, b^heuə- "to swell," is subject to an indefinite number of ablaut variants and root extensions. Noun earlier enbusshe, borrowed from Middle French embusche, embusque, noun derivative of embuschier "to place (in the woods) in order to attack by surprise" — more at ambush entry 1 Note: For the initial am- in place of em- see note at ambush entry 1 First Known Use Verb 14th century, in the meaning defined at transitive sense 1 Noun 15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1 Phrases Containing ambush in ambush in ambush Kids Definition ambush 1 of 2 verb am·bush ˈam-ˌbu̇sh ambushed; ambushing : to attack by surprise from a hidden place ambush 2 of 2 noun 1 : a hidden place from which a surprise attack can be made 2 : a surprise attack made from a hidden place ambushes 1 of 2 noun plural of ambush 1 as in attacks a setup in which hidden attackers lie in wait revolutionaries laid in ambush for the king along the route his carriage would travel Synonyms & Similar Words Relevance attacks ambushments traps ambuscades surprises assaults sallies snares surprizes charges huntings entrapments mousetraps captures 2 as in traps a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise thinking that he was getting into his assigned limousine, the diplomat did not realize that he was the victim of an ambush as he was being lured into his captor's car Synonyms & Similar Words traps snares ruses nets deceptions webs tricks envelopments hazards entanglements subterfuges snags entrapments duplicities pitfalls catches artifices booby traps cheats land mines ploys enmeshments double-dealings ambushes 2 of 2 verb present tense third-person singular of ambush as in assaults to lie in wait for and attack by surprise the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king Synonyms & Similar Words attacks assaults ambuscades surprises waylays captures traps storms surprizes snares sallies hunts stalks strikes jumps tackles assails nets mousetraps mugs entraps ensnares charges pounces (on) preys (on or upon)
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ambush

verb

noun

Synonyms

Example Sentences

Word History

Phrases Containing ambush

Kids Definition

verb

noun

noun

verb