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blitzkrieg

[blits-kreeg]
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noun, verb (used with object)
  1. blitz(defs 1, 2, 5).
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Origin of blitzkrieg

1935–40; < German, equivalent to Blitz lightning + Krieg war
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for blitzkrieg

Contemporary Examples

Historical Examples

  • The shortcomings of Blitzkrieg ironically rest in its strengths.

    Shock and Awe

    Harlan K. Ullman

British Dictionary definitions for blitzkrieg

blitzkrieg

noun
  1. a swift intensive military attack, esp using tanks supported by aircraft, designed to defeat the opposition quickly
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Word Origin

C20: from German: lightning war
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

Word Origin and History for blitzkrieg

n.

"rapid attack," 1939, from German Blitzkrieg, from Blitz "lightning" (from Middle High German blicze, back-formation from bliczen "to flash," from Old High German blecchazzen "to flash, lighten" (8c.), from Proto-Germanic *blikkatjan, from PIE root *bhel- (1) "to shine, flash, burn;" see bleach (v.)) + Krieg "war" (see kriegspiel).

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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
blitzkrieg in Culture

blitzkrieg

[(blits-kreeg)]

A form of warfare used by German forces in World War II. In a blitzkrieg, troops in vehicles, such as tanks, made quick surprise strikes with support from airplanes. These tactics resulted in the swift German conquest of France in 1940 (see fall of France). Blitzkrieg is German for “lightning war.”

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The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.