ambuscade

[ am-buh-skeyd, am-buh-skeyd ]

/ ˈæm bəˌskeɪd, ˌæm bəˈskeɪd /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR ambuscade ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

an ambush.

verb (used without object), am·bus·cad·ed, am·bus·cad·ing.

to lie in ambush.

verb (used with object), am·bus·cad·ed, am·bus·cad·ing.

to attack from a concealed position; ambush.

Nearby words

ambulate, ambulatory, ambulatory care, ambulatory surgery, ambulette, ambuscade, ambuscado, ambush, ambush bug, ambystomid, amc

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- bush¹

Related forms

am·bus·cad·er, noun

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

Examples from the Web for ambuscade

Whenever you hit a trail follow it, but go slow and keep your eyes peeled for an ambuscade.
Ted Strong in Montana|Edward C. Taylor
Murray lodged in the town during the night, and Hamilton posted himself in his ambuscade the next morning, armed with a gun.
Mary Queen of Scots, Makers of History|Jacob Abbott
Everywhere society was in ambuscade, and waged civil war--individual against individual--without peace or mercy.
Manners, Custom and Dress During the Middle Ages and During the Renaissance Period|Paul Lacroix
I laid an ambuscade, with thirty men and three officers, near the road.
The Life of Francis Marion|William Gilmore Simms

So they drew up and sat down before Eargate, and laid their ambuscade for Mr. Resistance within a bow shot of the town.
The Worlds Greatest Books|Arthur Mee, J. A. Hammerton, Eds.

British Dictionary definitions for ambuscade

ambuscade

/ (ˌæmbəˈskeɪd) /

noun

an ambush

verb

to ambush or lie in ambush

Word Origin for ambuscade

C16: from French embuscade, from Old Italian imboscata, probably of Germanic origin; compare ambush

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