guerrilla warfare

noun

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

Origin of guerrilla warfare

First recorded in 1835–45

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

guerrilla warfare, according to author and historian Max Boot, "is the universal war of the weak."
How Do You Defeat an Invisible Army? | Justin Green | February 18, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Do you know why we are unsuccessful in asymmetrical and guerrilla warfare in CENTCOM theatre of operations?
Rogue L.A. Cop’s Facebook Manifesto: ‘You Will Now Live the Life of Prey’ | The Daily Beast | February 8, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
He points out that in a full scale world war, guerrilla warfare, however romanticized and dramatic, is seldom relevant.
The Way We Fight: Max Boot’s ‘Invisible Armies’ | Michael Korda | January 21, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
A war of gangs and urban warfare, guerrilla warfare and a war of bees that sting and run away and return to sting once more.
Don’t Cheer Gaddafi’s Death Yet | Babak Dehghanpisheh | October 20, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST
“I do guerrilla warfare,” Reed once famously said to a journalist.
Trump's Campaign Manager Quest | Paul Alexander | April 16, 2011 | THE DAILY BEAST

Thus Hindman confesses he was encouraging the bloody guerrilla warfare which raged throughout the State.
The Courier of the Ozarks | Byron A. Dunn
In the art of guerrilla warfare the Indians have always shown exceptional skill.
The Myths of the North American Indians | Lewis Spence
Checked by this defeat, he again drew back into the forests, resuming his guerrilla warfare against the plantations.
Black Rebellion | Thomas Wentworth Higginson
Suppressed in one place, they appeared in another, waging a guerrilla warfare like that against Napoleon.
A History of the Inquisition of Spain; vol. 4 | Henry Charles Lea
By dint of guerrilla warfare, presents, and coaxing, by the middle of 1771 the rebels were pacified and settled in towns.
The Colonization of North America | Herbert Eugene Bolton

guerrilla warfare

[ (guh-ril-uh) ]

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

Browse