urban guerrilla
1
7.7
- noun
- /ˈɜrbən ɡəˈrɪlə/
- Specialized
:
guerrillero urbano
- In Uruguay, the Tupamaros (urban guerrillas) of the sixties and early seventies were throwing bombs, destroying government installations, and killing people.
- urban guerrilla warfare
- urban guerrilla war
- urban guerrilla fighters
Examples
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In urban areas, the urban guerrilla tactics often rely on stealth to avoid detection by authorities.
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Trained essentially as urban guerrilla fighters, the Algerians were no match for the well-armed and better-trained Moroccan forces.
Academic text (1995) -
Guatemala City is seen as a dangerous place to live, full of thieves and urban guerrillas.
Academic text (1990) -
She is an urban guerrilla fighting the just war... against all us fascist swine.
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In this period, the Uruguayan government, led by the Colorado Party, had its hands full with a collapsing economy, labor and student strikes, and the Tupamaros, a left-wing urban guerrilla group.
Blog text (21) -
The civil war in Iraq began in 2004 as a primarily urban guerrilla struggle by Sunni insurgent groups hoping to drive out the United States and regain the power held by Sunnis under Saddam Hussein.
Academic text (2007) -
The city became a battleground for urban guerrillas, who fought against the oppressive regime from hidden locations.
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Activists trained as urban guerrillas used their knowledge of the city to launch surprise attacks against their opponents.
Synonyms
136
7.7
A fighter in a small armed group who attacks a larger army using surprise attacks
Surface Forms
Morphology
The meaning 'a guerrilla fighter who operates in cities' is directly and compositionally derived from 'urban' (pertaining to cities) + 'guerrilla' (an irregular fighter). This adjective+noun combination follows a straightforward, cross-linguistically common pattern, so a B1 learner who knows both constituents should be able to infer the MWE's meaning.
Etymology
The term urban guerrilla comes from the image of a guerrilla fighter working in an urban area: imagine someone hiding in crowds and using streets and buildings for quick surprise attacks instead of the countryside. That's why the phrase means 'a fighter who operates in cities and towns'.