carpet-bomb
Americanverb (used with object)
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of carpet-bomb
First recorded in 1940–45
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.
Rather than carpet-bomb cancer with chemotherapy and radiation, oncologists are deploying the pharmaceutical equivalent of drones and precision missiles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Nov. 16, 2025
She won the primary over Rep. David Trone, a sensationally wealthy liquor magnate who had invested 60 million smackers into his campaign to carpet-bomb Maryland airwaves for months on end.
From Slate ● May 18, 2024
The few ads Green does see mostly make sense to him, since they tend to be from the most popular candidates — “with the exception of Steyer, who continues to carpet-bomb us all.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jan. 31, 2020
And thus does director Brian Henson carpet-bomb his father’s legacy.
From Seattle Times ● Aug. 23, 2018
Noting that the administration’s prime objective is to defeat the Islamic State’s violent ideology, Mr. McPeak said: “You can’t carpet-bomb an idea, or at least you shouldn’t try to.”
From Washington Times ● Sep. 28, 2014
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.
