ack-ack

or Ack-Ack

[ ak-ak ]

nounInformal.(esp. during World War II)
  1. antiaircraft fire.

  2. antiaircraft arms.

Origin of ack-ack

1
1935–40; for A.A. (abbreviation of a(nti)a(ircraft)) as said by British signalmen referring to sense 2

Words Nearby ack-ack

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use ack-ack in a sentence

  • "The ack-ack will knock those planes out of the sky," one of the sailors said.

    The Lost Warship | Robert Moore Williams
  • That was a score for the ack-ack gunners and the ground boys.

    A Yankee Flier with the R.A.F. | Rutherford G. Montgomery
  • They had reached the center of the area when the surprised ack-ack gunners woke up.

    A Yankee Flier in Italy | Rutherford G. Montgomery
  • 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

/ (ˈækˌæk) /


nounmilitary
    • anti-aircraft fire

    • (as modifier): ack-ack guns

  1. anti-aircraft arms

Origin of ack-ack

1
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