bushwhack

[ boo sh-hwak, -wak ]

/ ˈbʊʃˌʰwæk, -ˌwæk /

verb (used without object)

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

to travel through woods.

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

to fight as a bushwhacker or guerrilla in the bush.

verb (used with object)

to fight as a bushwhacker; ambush.

to defeat, especially by surprise or in an underhanded way: They bushwhacked our high school team when they used college players.

Nearby words

bushrangers, bushtit, bushveld, bushwa, bushwalking, bushwhack, bushwhacker, bushy, bushy-tailed, busily, business

Origin of bushwhack

1830–40, Americanism; back formation from bushwhacker

Definition for bushwhacking (2 of 2)

bushwhacker

[ boo sh-hwak-er, -wak-er ]

/ ˈbʊʃˌʰwæk ər, -ˌwæk ər /

noun

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.

Origin of bushwhacker

An Americanism dating back to 1800–10; bush¹ + whacker

Related forms

bush·whack·ing, noun

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bushwhacking

Momentarily, he slowed his pace, thinking he was ripe for a bushwhacking job.
First on the Moon|Jeff Sutton
These atrocities were supposed to have been committed by citizens of the neighborhood out "bushwhacking."
Some Personal Reminiscences of Service in the Cavalry of the Army of the Potomac|Hampton Sidney Thomas
On the way the cavalry burned a house and barn, by orders of Gen. Hunter, the owner having been engaged in bushwhacking.
History of the Twelfth West Virginia Volunteer Infantry|William Hewitt
This was a precaution against any bushwhacking bullet from the mangroves only a hundred feet away.
Jerry of the Islands|Jack London

The feud itself began in 1882 over a debt of $1.75, with the hogs and the bushwhacking brought up in recrimination.
Our Southern Highlanders|Horace Kephart

British Dictionary definitions for bushwhacking (1 of 2)

bushwhack

/ (ˈbʊʃˌwæk) /

verb

(tr) US, Canadian and Australian to ambush

(intr) US, Canadian and Australian to cut or beat one's way through thick woods

(intr) US, Canadian and Australian to range or move around in woods or the bush

(intr) US and Canadian to fight as a guerrilla in wild or uncivilized regions

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

British Dictionary definitions for bushwhacking (2 of 2)

bushwhacker

/ (ˈbʊʃˌwækə) /

noun

US, Canadian and Australian a person who travels around or lives in thinly populated woodlands

Australian informal an unsophisticated person; boor

a Confederate guerrilla during the American Civil War

US any guerrilla

NZ a person who works 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