bombardment

American  

[bom-bahrd-muhnt] / bɒmˈbɑrd mənt /

noun

1. a continuous or sustained attack, as with bombs or artillery fire.

   The rebel attacks were followed by government counterattacks that included airstrikes and artillery bombardment.

   The moon’s surface bears the scars of countless impact craters caused by the asteroid bombardment it has suffered over the eons.

2. an overwhelming quantity or barrage of something.

   We are all fed up with the incessant preelection bombardment of campaign mailers.

   Entering the stadium, you are immediately hit with a sensory bombardment: the buzz and crackle of massive television monitors, the smell of over-priced hotdogs and nachos.

3. Physics. the act or action of directing particles or radiation against something, such as a nucleus.

   In a conventional cathode-ray tube, the inside coating of the faceplate emits light in response to electron bombardment.

   Neutron bombardment of the uranium in the fuel converts some of it to plutonium, which is fissionable.

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Etymology

Origin of bombardment

bombard ( def. ) + -ment ( def. )

Explanation

When a lot of bombs fall on a city or area, it is a bombardment. But a bombardment can also mean a pummeling with lots of other things: questions, spit balls, or e-mails. During the early stages of a war, the capital city of the country under attack may suffer a severe bombardment meant to bring on a quick surrender. If there are many casualties or the citizens of the country are treated brutally by the occupying force, military officials may find themselves under a bombardment of questions and accusations about how the war was handled.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bombardment

Terekh grew up in Kharkiv, in eastern Ukraine, and from her children's home in Saltivka -- a district now among the areas hardest hit by Russian bombardment -- she could see Belgorod in Russia.

From Barron's ● Jul. 24, 2026

However, new evidence shows that its two hemispheres have not experienced that bombardment in the same way.

From Science Daily ● Jul. 21, 2026

Gulf countries also broadly support the effort, though they worry the U.S. could disengage before security concerns raised by Iran’s bombardment of the region during the war are addressed.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

Despite weeks of U.S. bombardment and an ongoing naval blockade, Tehran is as protective of its nuclear program today as it was before the war began.

From Los Angeles Times ● May 20, 2026

And the bombardment also failed to flatten the Germans’ barbed-wire entanglements, merely tossing the barbed wire around and creating even more of a barrier than before.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman

Related Words

• assault
• attack
• blitz
• bombing
• onslaught
• shelling