ambush
Americannoun
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ambushes
plural
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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)
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ambushes,
present (3rd person singular)
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ambushed,
past participle, past
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ambushing
present participle
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
-
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
-
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:
But since the rings select their bearers by asking whether they’re afraid during an ambush designed to create dread, the test favors those for whom life never presents anything to fear.
From Salon ● Aug. 14, 2026
Its fantastical elements, from the ambush on Troy led by Matt Damon’s Odysseus to a giant cyclops that gobbles his men in a cave, were created primarily with physical effects for a more visceral impact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 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
I used to ambush him on his way out, asking if I could walk with him, to which he’d reply, “Just need some time to think, honey.”
From "I'll Give You the Sun" by Jandy Nelson
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
Aid operations in the capital have also been hampered by ambushes along key access routes.
From BBC ● Mar. 28, 2024
Like me, she has been raised on strategy, moves and countermoves, ambushes and upper hands.
From "The Cruel Prince" by Holly Black
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
He backed Ramaphosa when the president was ambushed by US President Donald Trump during a showdown in the White House last year.
From BBC ● Jun. 17, 2026
Braddock’s column was ambushed by French and Native American forces at the Battle of the Monongahela.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 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
When the commander sent out small units to find the Miamis, their search-and-destroy missions were ambushed by allied Miamis and Shawnees under the leadership of Meshekinnoqquah and Weyapiersenwah.
From "An Indigenous People’s History of the United States" by Roxanne Dunbar-Ortiz
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
Victor Caratini led off the top of the fifth, ambushing a first-pitch fastball and sending it over the wall in right-center for a solo homer and a 3-0 lead.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
On another occasion the elder Mr. Biden participated in a family intervention, ambushing Hunter to push him into treatment.
From New York Times ● Jun. 20, 2023
After ambushing Guevara's guerrilla group Gen Prado was made a national hero for having defended the Bolivian military regime.
From BBC ● May 7, 2023
He pulled pranks like putting ketchup on people’s faces while they slept, or ambushing them with water balloons when they’d just woken up.
From "The 57 Bus" by Dashka Slater
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.
