blitzkrieg
[blits-kreeg]
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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
Fueled by atrocity and a blitzkrieg of gains in Iraq and Syria, the Islamic State has enjoyed a meteoric climb to notoriety.
Or, in Professor Gates' case, I can't decide whether to politely ask you to leave my house, or threaten to blitzkrieg your career.
This mood only began to change after the Nazi blitzkrieg of Poland drew Britain into the Second World War.
Obama and Hitler use the ‘blitzkrieg’ method to overwhelm their enemies.
Historical Examples
The shortcomings of Blitzkrieg ironically rest in its strengths.
Shock and AweHarlan K. Ullman
blitzkrieg
- 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
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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
[(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.