bushwhacker
Americannoun
-
a person or thing that bushwhacks.
-
(in the American Civil War) a guerrilla, especially a Confederate.
-
any guerrilla or outlaw.
-
Australian Slang. an unsophisticated person; hick.
noun
-
a person who travels around or lives in thinly populated woodlands
-
informal an unsophisticated person; boor
-
a Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War
-
any guerrilla
-
a person who works in the bush, esp at timber felling
Other Word Forms
- bushwhacking noun
Etymology
Origin of bushwhacker
An Americanism dating back to 1800–10; bush 1 + whacker ( def. )
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.
But just an hour outside Quito lies the Andean Chocó, a vast cloud forest teeming with exotic birds, pumas, ocelots and giant anteaters—and you no longer need to be an intrepid bushwhacker to enjoy it.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 20, 2025
He was a familiar figure along the Appalachian Trail and other paths, a wiry 5-foot-7 bushwhacker wearing his trademark mesh angler’s vest and toting a snake sack and a pole called a snake hook.
From Washington Post • Aug. 10, 2022
“I wonder in the long run if one of these days anyone will remember Quantrill,” he said, pointing out he already has been overshadowed by his bushwhacker subordinate Jesse James.
From Washington Times • Jun. 19, 2015
Marie Viljoen padded through the woods in Prospect Park one recent morning like a Brooklyn-chic bushwhacker in cargo pants, tall leather boots and a shock of red lipstick.
From New York Times • May 31, 2011
The bushwhacker responded with a grunt which expressed neither pleasure nor sorrow, but merely assent.
From Overland by De Forest, J. W. (John William)
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
