buzz bomb
1
9.4
- noun
- Archaic
:
bomba voladora
- Many Londoners lived in fear of the buzz bomb, not knowing when one might strike.
Examples
-
The Buzz bomb of WWII fame.
Blog text (30) -
We hit a Nazi buzz bomb field in '45.
Fiction book (2000) -
Must be a buzz bomb.
-
Just another buzz bomb headed for London.
-
The Israelis are very much in the same situation that Londoners were in during the V-1 Nazi buzz-bomb attacks of World War II.
Blog text (19) -
One day over lunch at the Reform Club, he recounted to me how, at that very same table some years earlier, he had been having lunch with a colleague when the screech of a buzz bomb was heard getting louder and louder, a sure sign that it would land, if not directly on the Club, then close by.
Academic text (1999) -
A long-time favorite object of demonstrations by peace advocates, Fort Detrick has been a scientific center since 1943 out of concern that German "buzz bombs" could be outfitted with biological agents.
Academic text (1999) -
During the 1930s and 1940s, Nazi scientists built and tested jet-powered V1s (also known as "doodlebugs" or "buzz bombs") and V2 rockets here.
Academic text (2002) -
The sound of the buzz bomb grew louder as it approached its target in London during World War II.
-
The devastating impact of the buzz bomb was felt across the city, leaving destruction in its wake.
Synonyms
∞
4.9
A weapon with its own engine that flies to a target and explodes
1
9.9
A German flying bomb used in World War II to attack cities
1
7.9
A small flying machine with wings that carries a bomb to a target
A small jet-powered flying bomb used by Germany in World War Two
A missile with wings and a jet engine that carries explosives to a target without a person on board
Surface Forms
Morphology
The compound literally combines 'buzz' (a noisy low flight or sound) with 'bomb' (an explosive device), so its meaning as a type of bomb characterized by a buzzing flight is directly derivable from the constituents. A B1 learner who knows both words can reasonably infer it refers to a bomb/aircraft that buzzes, even if they may not know the specific WWII technical details.
Etymology
The noun buzz bomb comes from the loud buzz a small German flying bomb made as it passed over towns in World War II, so people on the ground could hear it and know danger was near. That's why buzz bomb means 'a small flying bomb used to attack towns in World War II'.