guerrilla

American  

[guh-ril-uh] / gəˈrɪl ə /

Or guerilla

noun

• guerrillas
  plural

1. a member of a band of irregular soldiers that uses guerrilla warfare, harassing the enemy by surprise raids, sabotaging communication and supply lines, etc.

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adjective

1. pertaining to such fighters or their technique of warfare: guerrilla tactics.

   guerrilla strongholds;

   guerrilla tactics.

2. of or relating to an unauthorized, edgy, or disruptive version of an activity: guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

   guerrilla filmmaking on a busy sidewalk;

   guerilla gardening to beautify an abandoned lot.

guerrilla British  

/ ɡəˈrɪlə /

noun

1. 1. a member of an irregular usually politically motivated armed force that combats stronger regular forces, such as the army or police

   2. ( as modifier )

      guerrilla warfare

2. a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is from several individual rhizomes or stolons growing rapidly away from the centre, as in some clovers Compare phalanx

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• antiguerrilla
  noun
• guerrillaism
  noun
• counterguerrilla
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• guerrillas
  plural

Etymology

Origin of guerrilla

First recorded in 1800–10; from Spanish, diminutive of guerra “war” (of Germanic origin) + -illa diminutive suffix; originally in reference to the Spanish resistance against Napoleon; the name for the struggle erroneously taken as a personal noun; cf. war ¹, -elle

Explanation

If your brother says he’s going to become a guerrilla, he's not planning to become a hairy animal. Guerrilla fighters band together in a small underground army, usually trying to overcome a larger and more organized force. Guerrilla and gorilla are pronounced the same — which makes it easy to remember how to say guerrilla — but they have different meanings. In Spanish, guerra means "war" and guerrilla means “little army.” Guerrilla fighters tend to work in small groups and use ambush and sabotage to surprise stronger, more traditional forces. You might have heard of Che Guevara, a famous guerrilla fighter who was involved in the Cuban Revolution.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

guerrilla guerrillas

“They’re guerrilla, not asking for permission, just doing what they wanted to do with the help of their collective efforts,” esparza said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 2, 2026

Museveni has kept his own views on the succession quiet, but as a former guerrilla army leader, many assume he favours his son.

From Barron's ● Aug. 27, 2026

"It makes us a little nervous," said Darwin, who says he became a guerrilla due to a lack of work in his coca-growing region.

From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026

Giaconda Belli, a writer and former guerrilla who left the Sandinista party in 1990 and now lives in exile, said she knows firsthand that removing an authoritarian leader is possible.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 26, 2026

He stated that the defense would show that Umkhonto had not in fact adopted Operation Mayibuye, and that MK had not embarked on preparations for guerrilla warfare.

From "Long Walk to Freedom" by Nelson Mandela

The trek takes Etna across a bombed-out city and into a mountain range occupied by refugees and guerrillas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 29, 2026

Believing he would replicate the triumph in Cuba, he went to Bolivia with a small group of would-be guerrillas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 25, 2026

Like other former guerrillas, he said he had renounced violence.

From Barron's ● Apr. 22, 2026

Former Maoist rebel Vishnu Madvi, 26, surrendered in January after seven years with the guerrillas.

From Barron's ● Mar. 30, 2026

The cheap Russian boots pinch her feet as she trudges, the last of a single file of would-be guerrillas, up the intolerably fragrant mountainside.

From "Dreaming in Cuban" by Cristina García

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist