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ambush

ambush

132 5.5
An attack from a hidden place that surprises people
  • noun
  • /ˈæm.bʊʃ/
: emboscada
  • You're going to walk into an ambush otherwise.
  • killed in an ambush
  • soldiers in an ambush
  • ambush predator

You're going to walk into an ambush otherwise.

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Examples

  • In Ireland, successful ambushes made a deep impression on the public consciousness and remain the stuff of legend in the Irish countryside.

  • Shall I send out a small ambush party?

  • You let him walk into an ambush.

  • An hour after the ambush, the burnt-out staff car was found by the next patrol.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • During the Battle of Ganjagal, Dakota defied orders to storm into an ambush of our guys.

  • The soldiers planned an ambush to surprise the enemy troops as they passed by.

  • During the meeting, she described the ambush set up by the rebels against the military convoy.

  • They hid in the bushes, waiting for the perfect moment to execute their ambush.

Synonyms

trap
vsambush
622 2.0

A thing that catches and holds animals or tricks people

is an active human attack from hiding and waiting, not a device
raid
vsambush
330 4.9

A sudden attack by police or soldiers on a place

is done by hiding and waiting rather than any sudden group attack
22 6.8

A surprise attack carried out to stop an enemy from attacking first

is aimed at prevention rather than waiting hidden to attack
surprise attack
vsambush
18 3.5

A sudden action that begins without warning to catch people not ready

is carried out by hiding and waiting first rather than only surprise
ambuscade
vsambush
1 9.9

An act of hiding and then suddenly attacking people

is the same meaning but the main entry term
bushwhacking
vsambush
  • US
1 9.9

An attack from hiding in thick bushes or a forest

is the general act of hiding to attack, not only guerrilla use
dry-gulching
vsambush
  • Offensive
1 9.9

An attack in which someone hides and kills another person by surprise in a lonely place

is the broader act of hiding and waiting, not limited to killing or isolation
lying in wait
vsambush
  • NSFW
8.0

Hiding and waiting to attack someone by surprise

is the identical description used as the head entry

How Stealthy

ambush
132 5.5
attack
∞ 1.4

Surface Forms

ambush singular
ambushes plural

Etymology

The word ambush comes from Old French that meant 'in the bush', where bush is the same simple word for a small wood or thick plants, giving the picture of someone hiding in the bushes. So an ambush is a hiding place from which people wait to attack by surprise.