ambush
Americannoun
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an act or instance of lying concealed so as to attack by surprise.
The highwaymen waited in ambush near the road.
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an act or instance of attacking unexpectedly from a concealed position.
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the concealed position itself.
They fired from ambush.
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those who attack suddenly and unexpectedly from a concealed position.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the act of waiting in a concealed position in order to launch a surprise attack
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a surprise attack from such a position
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the concealed position from which such an attack is launched
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the person or persons waiting to launch such an attack
verb
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to lie in wait (for)
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(tr) to attack suddenly from a concealed position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ambushsimple
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ambushessimple
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have ambushedperfect
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has ambushedperfect
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am ambushingprogressive
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are ambushingprogressive
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is ambushingprogressive
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have been ambushingperfect progressive
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has been ambushingperfect progressive
Past
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ambushedsimple
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had ambushedperfect
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was ambushingprogressive
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were ambushingprogressive
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had been ambushingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ambush
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.
Explanation
An ambush is a sneak attack. To ambush your enemy, hide and wait for him to come near and then pounce on him. In war or in backyards, an ambush is a great way to surprise someone. Ambush comes from a Latin word meaning “to place in a wood,” and hiding in the woods behind a tree is a classic starting point for an ambush. The actual attack is called an ambush, but ambush is also a verb, so you can ambush your mom by dropping water balloons on her head from a tree. Please don’t tell her where you got that idea.
Vocabulary lists containing ambush
Animal Farm
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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"In the Spotlight," Vocabulary from the informational text
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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:
Here, though, it suffered a second ambush before eventually being able to reunite with the convoy.
From BBC ● May 24, 2026
Czesław is an ethnic Pole in the Red Army who escaped a ruthless German ambush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
Given its massive build, the snake was likely slow-moving and relied on ambush tactics, similar to modern anacondas.
From Science Daily ● Apr. 29, 2026
ADEN, Yemen — The ambush spot was good: Single-lane street, just enough space to overtake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Mar. 30, 2026
Taking me to a therapist’s office without telling me was basically an act of guerrilla warfare, and I promised myself right then that I’m never going to do this ambush stuff to my kids.
From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller
AFP spoke to his former business partner, ex-major Omar Rodriguez, who said that after a few desert ambushes last year, Quijano "paused" the operation.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
The “What Not To Wear” system involved secret footage, ambushes, a “360 degree mirror” in which the subject was required to explain her old wardrobe, soon to be discarded forever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2025
The airline sets cheap rates but ambushes customers with pesky little fees for every single facet of the flying experience, a nickel-and-diming scheme that bends not even for that glass of water.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2024
"There is only one thing that will save that park and that is if they start running intel, set up ambushes and make arrests. Otherwise nothing is going to change," she told the BBC.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2024
Alexa runs down the stairs and ambushes me with a giant hug, too.
From "The House That Lou Built" by Mae Respicio
Then Rushing again ambushed the first pitch — a knuckle curve on the inside edge — and drove it off the right-field wall.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 7, 2026
In one foray, led by Miller, the small party of raiders was ambushed by 80 Spanish troops.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 17, 2026
“Flying through blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
The DHS statement went on to say, "fearing for his life and safety as he was being ambushed by three individuals, the officer fired defensive shots".
From BBC ● Feb. 13, 2026
The whole planet was in a no-PvP zone, so I wasn’t worried about getting ambushed by the Sixers.
From "Ready Player One: A Novel" by Ernest Cline
The turtles mainly hunt by hiding under water and ambushing their prey, he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
We’ve all seen the appalling videos of masked agents ambushing and abducting these migrants in the halls of New York’s immigration court as they’re leaving a hearing.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
Signs of desperate hunger are growing as people resort to consuming animal feed or ambushing aid trucks.
From Seattle Times ● Mar. 16, 2024
Warnings of widespread hunger bordering on famine have become more urgent, and signs of desperation are growing as people resort to consuming animal feed or ambushing aid trucks.
From New York Times ● Mar. 9, 2024
By the time of the great Inca rebellion of 1536, the Incas had learned how best to defend themselves against cavalry, by ambushing and annihilating Spanish horsemen in narrow passes.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
