bombardment

[ bom-bahrd-muhnt ]

noun

1. a continuous or sustained attack, as with bombs or artillery fire:

   The rebel attacks were followed by government counterattacks that included airstrikes and artillery bombardment.

   The moon’s surface bears the scars of countless impact craters caused by the asteroid bombardment it has suffered over the eons.

2. an overwhelming quantity or barrage of something:

   We are all fed up with the incessant preelection bombardment of campaign mailers.

   Entering the stadium, you are immediately hit with a sensory bombardment: the buzz and crackle of massive television monitors, the smell of over-priced hotdogs and nachos.

3. Physics. the act or action of directing particles or radiation against something, such as a nucleus:

   In a conventional cathode-ray tube, the inside coating of the faceplate emits light in response to electron bombardment.

   Neutron bombardment of the uranium in the fuel converts some of it to plutonium, which is fissionable.

Word History and Origins

Origin of bombardment¹

bombard ( def ) + -ment ( def )

Example Sentences

Karim Khan, the court’s chief prosecutor, requested the warrants after investigating Hamas’s attack on Israel in October 2023 and Israel’s subsequent bombardment and invasion of Gaza.

From New York Times

But Ukrainian cities and front lines are also under daily bombardment from Russia.

From BBC

It included essays by Laotian people living under long-term U.S. bombardment along with drawings by children who depicted the horrors all around them.

From Salon

Israeli bombardment has ravaged large swaths of the country, killed almost 3,300 people and displaced a quarter of the population.

From Los Angeles Times

In Lebanon’s south, entire villages and towns have been erased in recent Israeli bombardment, triggered by Hezbollah’s yearlong rocket campaign against northern Israel.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• assault
• attack
• blitz
• bombing
• onslaught
• shelling