coastal assault
1
8.1
- noun
- /ˈkoʊstəl əˈsɔlt/
- Specialized
:
asalto costero
- The naval fleet provided support for the coastal assault by bombarding the shore.
Examples
-
The general planned a coastal assault to seize the enemy's beach stronghold.
-
Now, we will block the Persian coastal assault... ...by rebuilding the great Phocian Wall.
-
During the coastal assault, troops landed under heavy fire from enemy defenses.
Synonyms
423
6.9
Close fighting during the final part of a military attack
159
7.4
A large attack by an army to gain control
3
8.4
A military attack where soldiers move from ships to land
2
8.3
A military attack in which troops move from ships or planes onto an enemy shore
1
8.1
A military action that lands soldiers from ships onto a shore
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a military attack carried out near or onto the coast' is directly deducible from combining 'coastal' (pertaining to the sea-adjacent area) with 'assault' (a military attack). This adjective+noun composition expresses a straightforward locational modification and follows cross-linguistic patterns, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents would readily infer the phrase's meaning.
Etymology
Coastal assault comes from the image of soldiers leaving boats and rushing onto a beach to fight. The word coastal points to the shore and assault means a sudden 'attack', so it now means 'a military attack near or onto the coast'.