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View synonyms for bushwhack

bushwhack

[boosh-hwak, -wak]

verb (used without object)

  1. to make one's way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.

  2. to travel through woods.

  3. to pull a boat upstream from on board by grasping bushes, rocks, etc., on the shore.

  4. to fight as a bushwhacker or guerrilla in the bush.



verb (used with object)

  1. to fight as a bushwhacker; ambush.

  2. to defeat, especially by surprise or in an underhanded way.

    They bushwhacked our high school team when they used college players.

bushwhack

/ ˈbʊʃˌwæk /

verb

  1. (tr) to ambush

  2. (intr) to cut or beat one's way through thick woods

  3. (intr) to range or move around in woods or the bush

  4. (intr) to fight as a guerrilla in wild or uncivilized regions

  5. (intr) to work in the bush, esp at timber felling

“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
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Word History and Origins

Origin of bushwhack1

An Americanism first recorded in 1830–40; back formation from bushwhacker
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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.

Soon, though, he lost the trail and began bushwhacking downhill along a stream bed.

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His characters bushwhack through the jungle in 2010’s “Matterhorn,” fish and log in “Deep River,” and now, in “Cold Victory,” ski south from the Arctic Circle in a 500K race.

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They gave her warm liquids, food and dry clothing and soon helped her bushwhack back to the trail.

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The climber was attempting to “bushwhack” the summit of a “13’er,” which means climbing a peak over 13,000 feet tall while going off the beaten trail, CCSAR-N said in the post.

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Van Pelt, 64, has built a reputation as a preeminent big tree authority by bushwhacking deep into forests and scaling giants taller than the Statue of Liberty to study and sketch them.

Read more on Seattle Times

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