ack-ack

or Ack-Ack

[ak-ak]

noun Informal. (esp. during World War II)

antiaircraft fire.

antiaircraft arms.

Origin of ack-ack

1935–40; for A.A. (abbreviation of a(nti) a(ircraft)) as said by British signalmen referring to sense 2

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for ack-ack

Historical Examples of ack-ack

That was a score for the Ack-Ack gunners and the ground boys.
A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F.
Rutherford G. Montgomery
"The ack-ack will knock those planes out of the sky," one of the sailors said.
The Lost Warship
Robert Moore Williams
The Jerries were at it again and seemed to have slipped inside the balloons and the ring of Ack-Ack guns.
A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F.
Rutherford G. Montgomery

British Dictionary definitions for ack-ack

ack-ack

noun military

anti-aircraft fire
(as modifier)ack-ack guns

anti-aircraft arms

Word Origin for ack-ack

C20: British army World War I phonetic alphabet for AA, abbreviation of anti-aircraft

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Word Origin and History for ack-ack

1939, representing A.A., the military abbreviation for anti-aircraft (see ack).