bombard

[bom-bahrd, buhm-, bom-bahrd]

verb (used with object)

1. to attack or batter with artillery fire.

2. to attack with bombs.

3. to assail vigorously.

   to bombard the speaker with questions.

   Synonyms: besiege, hound, harass, beset

4. Physics.,  to direct high energy particles or radiations against.

   to bombard a nucleus.

noun

1. the earliest kind of cannon, originally throwing stone balls.

2. Nautical.,  bomb ketch.

3. an English leather tankard of the 18th century and earlier, similar to but larger than a blackjack.

4. Obsolete.,  a leather jug.

bombard

verb

1. to attack with concentrated artillery fire or bombs

2. to attack with vigour and persistence

   the boxer bombarded his opponent with blows to the body

3. to attack verbally, esp with questions

   the journalists bombarded her with questions

4. physics to direct high-energy particles or photons against (atoms, nuclei, etc) esp to produce ions or nuclear transformations

noun

1. an ancient type of cannon that threw stone balls

Other Word Forms

• bombarder noun
• bombardment noun

Word History and Origins

Origin of bombard¹

First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (noun), Medieval Latin bombarda “stone-throwing engine” ( Latin bomb(us) “booming noise” + -arda noun suffix); bomb, -ard

Word History and Origins

Origin of bombard¹

C15: from Old French bombarder to pelt, from bombarde stone-throwing cannon, probably from Latin bombus booming sound; see _bomb

Example Sentences

She said she was "bombarded with messages from the community wanting to help", and within hours a visit was arranged.

Read more on BBC

Smishing is primarily done through two devices; a Sim farm which holds multiple Sim cards, allowing criminals to bombard people with thousands of scam texts.

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Increasingly, we do so at our own peril, retreating into screens that bombard us with ever more fearsome stories of others, which causes us to retreat even further.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

The Incorrigibles were excited to learn she was a history teacher and bombarded her with questions: Was it true that plague had determined the outcome of the Peloponnesian War?

Read more on Literature

Built to bombard enemy shore batteries, the Erebus and the Terror were known as bomb ships.

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Related Words

• barrage 
• batter 
• besiege 
• blast 
• blitz 
• bomb 
• harass 
• hound 
• open fire 
• pester 
• strafe