What does ambush mean?
Definitions for ambush
ˈæm bʊʃam·bush
This dictionary definitions page includes all the possible meanings, example usage and translations of the word ambush.
Princeton's WordNet
ambush, ambuscade, lying in wait, trapverb
the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise
ambush, scupper, bushwhack, waylay, lurk, ambuscade, lie in waitverb
wait in hiding to attack
still-hunt, ambushverb
hunt (quarry) by stalking and ambushing
Wiktionary
ambushnoun
The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack by surprise.
ambushnoun
An attack launched from a concealed position.
ambushverb
To station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy.
ambushverb
To attack by ambush; to waylay.
Etymology: From embusche (noun), embushier, embuissier (verb), from em- + boscus, of origin, from *, from busk-. Compare ambuscade. The change to am- from earlier forms in en- is unexplained. More at bush.
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary
Ambushnoun
Etymology: embusche, Fr. from bois a wood; whence embuscher, to hide in woods, ambushes being commonly laid under the concealment of thick forests.
Charge, charge, their ground the faint Taxallans yield,
Bold in close ambush, base in open field. John Dryden, Indian Emperour.Nor shall we need,
With dangerous expedition, to invade
Heav’n, whose high walls fear no assault or siege,
Or ambush from the deep. John Milton, Par. Lost, b. ii.The residue retired deceitfully towards the place of their ambush, whence issued more. Then the earl gathered his small company about him, and maintained the fight. But the enemy, whether perceiving some succours advancing, or whether intending to draw the English further into their ambush, turned away at an easy pace. John Hayward.
For you, my noble lord of Lancaster,
Once did I lay an ambush for your life. William Shakespeare, Richard II.
Wikipedia
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mountaintops. Ambushes have been used consistently throughout history, from ancient to modern warfare. In the 20th century, an ambush might involve thousands of soldiers on a large scale, such as over a choke point such as a mountain pass, or a small irregulars band or insurgent group attacking a regular armed force patrols. Theoretically, a single well-armed and concealed soldier could ambush other troops in a surprise attack. Sometimes an ambush can involve the exclusive or combined use of improvised explosive devices, that allow the attackers to hit enemy convoys or patrols while minimizing the risk of being exposed to return fire.
Webster Dictionary
Ambushverb
a disposition or arrangement of troops for attacking an enemy unexpectedly from a concealed station. Hence: Unseen peril; a device to entrap; a snare
Ambushverb
a concealed station, where troops or enemies lie in wait to attack by surprise
Ambushverb
the troops posted in a concealed place, for attacking by surprise; liers in wait
Ambushverb
to station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy
Ambushverb
to attack by ambush; to waylay
Ambushverb
to lie in wait, for the purpose of attacking by surprise; to lurk
Etymology: [OE. enbussen, enbushen, OF. embushier, embuissier, F. embcher, embusquer, fr. LL. imboscare; in + LL. boscus, buscus, a wood; akin to G. bush, E. bush. See Ambuscade, Bush.]
Freebase
Ambush
An ambush is a long-established military tactic, in which the aggressors take advantage of concealment and the element of surprise to attack an unsuspecting enemy from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind hilltops. Ambushes have been used consistently throughout history, from ancient to modern warfare.
Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
Ambush
am′boosh, n. and v. same meanings as Ambuscade.—n. Am′bushment (B.), ambush. [O. Fr. embusche (mod. embûche), embuscher, Low L. emboscāre—in-, in, and boscus, a bush.]
Dictionary of Nautical Terms
ambush
Signifies an attempt to lie in concealment for the purpose of surprising the enemy without his perceiving the intention until he is attacked.
Military Dictionary and Gazetteer
ambush
A place of concealment where an enemy may be surprised by a sudden attack.
Suggested Resources
ambush
Song lyrics by ambush -- Explore a large variety of song lyrics performed by ambush on the Lyrics.com website.
Surnames Frequency by Census Records
AMBUSH
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Ambush is ranked #54296 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
The Ambush surname appeared 380 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 0 would have the surname Ambush.
80% or 304 total occurrences were Black.
9.4% or 36 total occurrences were White.
7.8% or 30 total occurrences were of two or more races.
1.3% or 5 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
Anagrams for ambush »
shambu
Numerology
Chaldean Numerology
The numerical value of ambush in Chaldean Numerology is: 3
Pythagorean Numerology
The numerical value of ambush in Pythagorean Numerology is: 1
Examples of ambush in a Sentence
We don’t know exactly what happened because we weren’t there, however, just from agents that were working in the area, reports are saying it was an attack and it would appear to be an ambush.
The undertaking of a careless man succeeds not, though he use the right expedients: a clever hunter, though well placed in ambush, kills not his quarry if he falls asleep.
Serving as a member of the 82ndAirborne Division, I led convoys up and down ambush alley in Baghdad, i wished the folks in Washington understood war and what we’re asking of our sons and daughters.
Clearly this was not a police ambush and police were never the target.
There are hooks, like having to leave right now, but it's not just an ambush show.
Popularity rank by frequency of use
Translations for ambush
From our Multilingual Translation Dictionary
- كمينArabic
- нападам от засада, причаквам, засада, устройвам засада, клопкаBulgarian
- zálohaCzech
- HinterhaltGerman
- ενέδραGreek
- emboscar, emboscadaSpanish
- väijyttää, väijyä, väijytysFinnish
- embuscadeFrench
- מארב, אָרַבHebrew
- घात लगानाHindi
- csapda, leshelyHungarian
- դարանակալելArmenian
- penyergapan, sergapanIndonesian
- imboscataItalian
- 不意打ち, 待ち伏せJapanese
- īnsidiaeLatin
- pehipehi, kuratopuni, whakamoke, kauaeroaMāori
- hinderlaagDutch
- zasadzkaPolish
- emboscada, emboscar, tocaiaPortuguese
- нападать из засады, устраивать засаду, засадаRussian
- за̑седа, за̑сједа, zȃseda, zȃsjedaSerbo-Croatian
- ligga i bakhåll, bakhållSwedish
- tuzak, pusuTurkish
- گھات لگا کر حملہUrdu
- 伏擊Chinese
Get even more translations for ambush »
Translation
Find a translation for the ambush definition in other languages:
Select another language:
- - Select -
- 简体中文 (Chinese - Simplified)
- 繁體中文 (Chinese - Traditional)
- Español (Spanish)
- Esperanto (Esperanto)
- 日本語 (Japanese)
- Português (Portuguese)
- Deutsch (German)
- العربية (Arabic)
- Français (French)
- Русский (Russian)
- ಕನ್ನಡ (Kannada)
- 한국어 (Korean)
- עברית (Hebrew)
- Gaeilge (Irish)
- Українська (Ukrainian)
- اردو (Urdu)
- Magyar (Hungarian)
- मानक हिन्दी (Hindi)
- Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Italiano (Italian)
- தமிழ் (Tamil)
- Türkçe (Turkish)
- తెలుగు (Telugu)
- ภาษาไทย (Thai)
- Tiếng Việt (Vietnamese)
- Čeština (Czech)
- Polski (Polish)
- Bahasa Indonesia (Indonesian)
- Românește (Romanian)
- Nederlands (Dutch)
- Ελληνικά (Greek)
- Latinum (Latin)
- Svenska (Swedish)
- Dansk (Danish)
- Suomi (Finnish)
- فارسی (Persian)
- ייִדיש (Yiddish)
- հայերեն (Armenian)
- Norsk (Norwegian)
- English (English)
Word of the Day
Would you like us to send you a FREE new word definition delivered to your inbox daily?
Citation
Use the citation below to add this definition to your bibliography:
Style:MLAChicagoAPA
"ambush." Definitions.net. STANDS4 LLC, 2023. Web. 21 Mar. 2023. <https://www.definitions.net/definition/ambush>.
Discuss these ambush definitions with the community:
Report Comment
We're doing our best to make sure our content is useful, accurate and safe.
If by any chance you spot an inappropriate comment while navigating through our website please use this form to let us know, and we'll take care of it shortly.
Attachment
You need to be logged in to favorite.
Log In