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.

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guerrilla warfare Cultural  

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

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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

Beijing trained the rebels in guerrilla warfare, Marxist-Leninist theory and "people's war".

From BBC ● Oct. 27, 2025

Regarding Venezuela, Goldman himself says that he arrived too late, after Che Guevara had died and after the guerrilla warfare was over.

From Salon ● Sep. 6, 2024

The floating fetus, we’re told, communicates with mother and brother not in the typical ooh, the baby’s kicking fashion, but rather, in full-blown telepathic sentences about interplanetary strategy and guerrilla warfare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 21, 2024

Taking me to a therapist’s office without telling me was basically an act of guerrilla warfare, and I promised myself right then that I’m never going to do this ambush stuff to my kids.

From "The Science of Breakable Things" by Tae Keller