artillery fire
7
6.9
- noun
- /ɑrˈtɪləri faɪər/
- Specialized
- The soldiers took cover as the enemy unleashed their artillery fire on the battlefield.
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Watch on YouTubeWell, don't think of the war as constant artillery fire and endless fighting.
- Well, don't think of the war as constant artillery fire and endless fighting.
- And so artillery fire is now sniper fire because you can coordinate the direction of the artillery fire with the drones.
- They were seeing heavy, heavier and heavier artillery fire going into into Donbass from the Ukrainian side.
Examples
-
But a few minutes later, they were told to get down as artillery fire began to whiz over their heads.
Fiction book (1990) -
They were seeing heavy, heavier and heavier artillery fire going into into Donbass from the Ukrainian side.
-
During artillery fire, this is the most dangerous side of the street.
Fiction book (2002) -
Wait till they get a dose of that artillery fire.
-
When they come out, they will be under enemy long-range artillery fire.
-
A German editorial blamed the destruction on American artillery fire.
Academic text (2002) -
When the fog lifts, any advance will surely receive a concentration of his artillery fire.
-
Right now, many other cities in Libya are under heavy artillery fire from Ghaddafi's forces.
Blog text (22) -
Somehow the artillery fire hadn't woken me, and neither had the grind of armored trucks racing out and returning.
Academic text (2010) -
Artillery fire rayed the trenches, bathing Flanders in a ghastly manmade glow visible from two miles up.
Fiction book (1994)
Synonyms
∞
5.9
Shooting weapons at an enemy or target
350
2.3
Firing a gun for practice or sport
51
8.3
Firing large guns at an area, often not aimed at a specific target
47
7.0
A long, heavy attack with bombs or large guns on a place
14
7.6
A heavy continuous attack by large guns across an area
14
3.0
The act of shooting a gun
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
7.9
Soldiers fire explosive shells in a high arc at a target from the ground
3
4.9
Loud shots from large guns used in an attack
3
7.0
An attack in which an enemy shoots at people
1
8.8
Heavy firing of large guns causes explosions at a place
A long heavy stream of shots from large guns across a wide area to hit many places
A long, very loud attack by many heavy guns firing rapidly
How Intense
- Specialized
- Specialized
14
7.6
47
7.0
- Specialized
7
6.9
- Specialized
66
4.1
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'the act of firing heavy weapons' is directly derivable from combining 'artillery' (large-calibre guns) with 'fire' (the shooting or discharge of weapons). This straightforward noun-noun composition is compositional and cross-linguistically common, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should understand the phrase.
Etymology
Artillery fire comes from the picture of many big guns shooting together: artillery are the heavy guns and fire means the shooting and explosions. So, artillery fire means 'the act of firing heavy weapons'.