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

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

Comedy duo Matt Johnson and Jay McCarrol used guerrilla filmmaking and footage they shot in the mid-aughts to create a time-travel caper about their characters’ quest to play the ultimate gig.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026

The attack marked the start of a guerrilla war that would sweep Batista from power a little over two years later and usher in over six decades of socialism.

From Barron's ● Jun. 21, 2026

After launching in 2022 as a live event outdoors at Lincoln Center, the guerrilla awards show reached TV screens for the first time last year.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 11, 2026

There is no money- back guarantee that a cream can reduce cellulite. guerrilla.

From "Woe Is I" by Patricia T. O'Conner

A Colombian judge on Thursday ordered President Abelardo de la Espriella's right-wing government to suspend bombings of guerrillas if information suggests the presence of recruited minors.

From Barron's ● Sep. 3, 2026

Nor are streets, schools or government buildings named after him, a prohibition he imposed shortly after his guerrillas overthrew Fulgencio Batista in 1959.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 13, 2026

For generations, these documents were little more than family heirlooms that served as painful reminders of fortunes lost after the revolution led by Fidel Castro’s bearded guerrillas.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026

Since the coup, some of Myanmar's myriad ethnic minority factions have banded with pro-democracy guerrillas to fight the armed forces.

From Barron's ● Jul. 18, 2026

Mostly, though, the guerrillas are symbols of resistance, especially after Manila is declared an open city and the Americans no longer actively defend it.

From "At Last She Stood" by Erin Entrada Kelly

Related Words

• commando
• mercenary
• terrorist