ambush

American  

[am-boosh] / ˈæm bʊʃ /

noun

1. an act or instance of lying concealed so as to attack by surprise.

   The highwaymen waited in ambush near the road.

2. an act or instance of attacking unexpectedly from a concealed position.

3. the concealed position itself.

   They fired from ambush.

4. those who attack suddenly and unexpectedly from a concealed position.

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verb (used with object)

1. to attack from ambush.

ambush British  

/ ˈæmbʊʃ /

noun

1. the act of waiting in a concealed position in order to launch a surprise attack

2. a surprise attack from such a position

3. the concealed position from which such an attack is launched

4. the person or persons waiting to launch such an attack

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verb

1. to lie in wait (for)

2. (tr) to attack suddenly from a concealed position

Other Word Forms

• ambusher noun
• ambushlike adjective

Etymology

Origin of ambush

1250–1300; (v.) Middle English enbuss ( h ) en < Middle French embuschier to place men in ambush, literally, to set in the woods, equivalent to em- im- ¹ + busch- (< Vulgar Latin *busca wood, forest < Germanic *busk- heavy stick) + -ier infinitive suffix; (noun) earlier enbusshe < Middle French embusche, derivative of the v.

Example Sentences

ADEN, Yemen — The ambush spot was good: Single-lane street, just enough space to overtake.

From Los Angeles Times

Hidden in plain sight, an ambush bug nymph waits motionless inside a flower in Michigan.

From BBC

But Aoun described it as a deliberate ambush set for Lebanon and its army, designed to draw the Israeli military into another incursion.

From BBC

Researchers believe the behaviour may involve ambush attacks from below, with dolphins potentially unaware of the threat.

From BBC

Two National Guardsmen who were ambushed on duty in Washington received Purple Hearts, one posthumously.

From The Wall Street Journal

Related Words

• assault
• surround
• trap
• waylay