dive-bomb

[ dahyv-bom ]

verb (used with or without object)

1. to attack with or as if with a dive bomber.

dive-bomb

verb

1. tr to bomb (a target) using or in the manner of a dive bomber

Word History and Origins

Origin of dive-bomb¹

First recorded in 1930–35

Example Sentences

The "Great British Spraycation" street art included seagulls dive-bombing for chips, children playing with sand and in boats, as well as a rat leaning back in a deckchair while enjoying a cocktail.

From BBC

American photographer Kat Zhou won British Waters Wide-Angle, with an image of dive-bombing gannets in Shetland.

From BBC

The grackles became furious because traffic to and from the vehicles wasn’t moving right, and so they lined up to begin dive-bombing just about everybody.

From Literature

The zoo even enlisted a real-life bird of prey, a hawk, to fly around the zoo, Fawzy said — but the seagulls, unfazed, “gathered together in flocks of 20 or 30 and … dive-bombed the hawk.”

From Washington Post

When residents of Capitola woke up that foggy early morning on August 18, 1961, they were greeted by flocks of birds dive-bombing into their houses.

From Salon