ambuscade

American  

[am-buh-skeyd, am-buh-skeyd] / ˈæm bəˌskeɪd, ˌæm bəˈskeɪd /

noun

1. an ambush.

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verb (used without object)

ambuscaded, ambuscading

1. to lie in ambush.

verb (used with object)

ambuscaded, ambuscading

1. to attack from a concealed position; ambush.

ambuscade British  

/ ˌæmbəˈskeɪd /

noun

1. an ambush

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verb

1. to ambush or lie in ambush

Other Word Forms

• ambuscader
  noun

Etymology

Origin of ambuscade

1575–85; < Middle French embuscade, alteration (under influence of Old French embuschier; see ambush) of Middle French emboscade < Old Italian imboscata, feminine past participle of imboscare, verbal derivative with in- in- ² of bosco wood, forest < Germanic *bosk- bush ¹

Explanation

An ambuscade is a surprise attack. There's nothing funnier than watching your cat lie in wait behind the couch until your dog wanders over, only to be startled by the cat's ambuscade. While ambuscade is a bit old-fashioned, it's a perfectly good way to say ambush. Soldiers in battle conduct strategic ambuscades, and you may also enjoy using an ambuscade against your brother now and then, leaping out from behind a door to make him jump. It can also be used as a verb: "The dog is surprised every single time the cat ambuscades him."

Example Sentences

The businessman is now concentrating his efforts on trying to bring home a Clydebuilt ship from a different era - the Type 21 frigate HMS Ambuscade.

From BBC • Oct. 18, 2025

In the evening, steering for Palermo, they were joined by the Ambuscade and Astrea, neither of whom had obtained any information of the enemy's fleet, though they had seen many vessels.

From The Life of the Right Honourable Horatio Lord Viscount Nelson, Volume 2 by Harrison, James

The Ambuscade reached Gibraltar on the 9th of March, and found all well; so say the papers.

From Jane Austen, Her Life and Letters A Family Record by Austen-Leigh, William

Ambuscade, am′busk-ād, n. a hiding to attack by surprise: a body of troops in concealment: the hidden place of ambush—used also as a verb.—n.

From Chambers's Twentieth Century Dictionary (part 1 of 4: A-D) by Various

The French frigate Ambuscade, lying in the river and hearing from Chester in due season, was to warn the republicans with her guns of the coming of the minister.

From The Red City A Novel of the Second Administration of President Washington by Mitchell, S. Weir (Silas Weir)