guerrilla warfare

American  

noun

1. the use of hit-and-run tactics by small, mobile groups of irregular forces operating in territory controlled by a hostile, regular force.

---

guerrilla warfare Cultural  

1. Wars fought with hit-and-run tactics by small groups against an invader or against an established government. (See counterinsurgency.)

---

Etymology

Origin of guerrilla warfare

First recorded in 1835–45

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guerrilla warfare

Navy’s siege is revealing a hole in Tehran’s strategy of guerrilla warfare and controlling the Strait of Hormuz.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 2, 2026

However, the Afghan Taliban has extensive experience in guerrilla warfare.

From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2026

India’s independence movement was closely aligned with Ireland's, for example, and explicitly modeled on the combination of civil disobedience and guerrilla warfare that won Irish independence in the 1920s.

From Salon ● Mar. 16, 2025

The South American nation of 18 million people was long a spot of calm in a region shaken by political upheaval, economic turmoil and guerrilla warfare.

From Seattle Times ● Oct. 12, 2023

This sort of guerrilla warfare dragged on for eight months.

From "The Secret History" by Donna Tartt