guerrilla warfare

American  

noun

1. the use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force.

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guerrilla warfare Cultural  

1. Wars fought with hit-and-run tactics by small groups against an invader or against an established government. (See counterinsurgency.)

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Etymology

Origin of guerrilla warfare

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guerrilla warfare

Navy’s siege is revealing a hole in Tehran’s strategy of guerrilla warfare and controlling the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

Most of Ireland ultimately became an independent state in 1922, after several years of bloody guerrilla warfare.

From Salon ● Oct. 19, 2024

The floating fetus, we’re told, communicates with mother and brother not in the typical ooh, the baby’s kicking fashion, but rather, in full-blown telepathic sentences about interplanetary strategy and guerrilla warfare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2024

The government also expects to implement a Maroon sanctuary zone in St. Croix’s West End to honor the legacy of Caribbean descendants of West African slaves who escaped slavery using guerrilla warfare.

From Seattle Times ● Aug. 9, 2022

We decided, therefore, in our preparations for the future, to make provision for the possibility of guerrilla warfare.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela