Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Synonyms

air strike

American  
Or airstrike

noun

  1. the bombing or strafing of a city, enemy force, etc., by military aircraft.

    The air strike devastated the enemy's submarine base.


Etymology

Origin of air strike

First recorded in 1940–45

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

See Examples For:

One wrote on social media that many people had initially believed the blast was caused by an air strike.

From BBC May 31, 2026

Masoud Pezeshkian said the "cowardly assassination" had left Iran "in deep mourning", after Israel said on Wednesday it had killed Khatib in an air strike.

From BBC Mar. 18, 2026

It also comes after Iran’s new supreme leader, Mojtaba Khamenei, broke his silence for the first time as the country’s supreme leader since succeeding his father, Ali Khamenei, was killed in an air strike.

From MarketWatch Mar. 13, 2026

An air strike hit a hotel in Hazmieh near Beirut on Wednesday, the first reported Israeli attack on the predominantly Christian area in Beirut's suburbs, near the presidential palace and several embassies.

From Barron's Mar. 4, 2026

A blockade, like an air strike, was an act of war.

From "Fallout: Spies, Superbombs, and the Ultimate Cold War Showdown" by Steve Sheinkin

Vocabulary.com logo
by dictionary.com

Dictionary.com's Learning Companion

Go beyond just looking up words.
Remember them forever with VocabTrainer.

Start training