ambush

[am-boosh]

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.

verb (used with object)

1. to attack from ambush.

ambush

/ 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

verb

1. to lie in wait (for)

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

Other Word Forms

• ambusher noun
• ambushlike adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambush¹

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.

Word History and Origins

Origin of ambush¹

C14: from Old French embuschier to position in ambush, from em- _im- + -buschier, from busche piece of firewood, probably of Germanic origin; see _bush ¹

Example Sentences

That last promise vaporized early on, after Volodymyr Zelensky stormed out of the White House following an Oval Office ambush in February.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Recordings of those calls, obtained by ProPublica, captured some of the terror residents felt as they watched masked men ambush people and force them into unmarked cars.

Read more on Salon

Ecuadorian officials said the convoy - which included UN and EU diplomats - was delivering aid to communities affected by a national strike when ambushed by about 350 people, who attacked it with Molotov cocktails.

Read more on BBC

“We are all afraid,” he said, visibly shaken a day after the ambush.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Jurors in Plumb's trial at Chelmsford Crown Court heard his "ultimate fantasy" was to ambush Ms Willoughby at her home and bring sexualised violence against her at a "dungeon"-type room.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• assault 
• surround 
• trap 
• waylay