massed fire
- noun
- Specialized
:
fuego concentrado
- During the naval battle, massed fire from the destroyers overwhelmed the target ship.
Examples
-
The artillery unit coordinated their massed fire to suppress enemy defensive positions.
-
Tanks employed massed fire to break through the fortified lines.
-
The troops launched a massed fire at the enemy position.
-
During the battle, the general ordered a massed fire on the enemy's stronghold.
-
The soldiers launched a massed fire at the enemy bunker to weaken their defenses.
-
During the battle, the commanders ordered massed fire from all artillery units on the advancing troops.
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In a display of strength, the military executed a massed fire to demonstrate their firepower to the opposition.
Synonyms
11
6.8
A sudden series of shots fired quickly, for example from guns
8
8.6
A sudden group of gun or cannon shots fired together
7
6.9
A heavy attack by military guns and cannons on enemy positions
3
4.9
Loud shots from large guns used in an attack
3
9.5
A quick series of gunshots or attacks that happen at once
1
9.5
All the guns on one side of a ship fire at the same time
Fire from several weapons aimed together at one target
A long, very loud attack by many heavy guns firing rapidly
A long heavy stream of shots from large guns across a wide area to hit many places
Antonyms
How Concentrated
Surface Forms
Morphology
massed + fire
The compound is directly compositional: 'massed' (gathered, concentrated) modifies 'fire' (the firing of weapons), so the phrase denotes concentrated or coordinated firing at a target. This adjective+noun pattern is predictable in English and found cross-linguistically in military vocabulary, so a B1 learner who knows the constituent meanings can infer the MWE meaning.
Etymology
Massed fire comes from a simple military image: many weapons brought together (massed) all shooting at the same place (fire). When many guns or shells hit one spot at once they make a stronger effect, so the phrase means 'coordinated firing at a single target'.