ambush
Americannoun
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an act or instance of lying concealed so as to attack by surprise.
The highwaymen waited in ambush near the road.
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an act or instance of attacking unexpectedly from a concealed position.
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the concealed position itself.
They fired from ambush.
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those who attack suddenly and unexpectedly from a concealed position.
verb (used with object)
noun
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the act of waiting in a concealed position in order to launch a surprise attack
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a surprise attack from such a position
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the concealed position from which such an attack is launched
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the person or persons waiting to launch such an attack
verb
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to lie in wait (for)
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(tr) to attack suddenly from a concealed position
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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ambushsimple
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ambushessimple
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have ambushedperfect
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has ambushedperfect
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am ambushingprogressive
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are ambushingprogressive
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is ambushingprogressive
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have been ambushingperfect progressive
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has been ambushingperfect progressive
Past
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ambushedsimple
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had ambushedperfect
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was ambushingprogressive
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were ambushingprogressive
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had been ambushingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of ambush
1250–1300; (v.) Middle English enbuss ( h ) en < Middle French embuschier to place men in ambush, literally, to set in the woods, equivalent to em- im- 1 + busch- (< Vulgar Latin *busca wood, forest < Germanic *busk- heavy stick) + -ier infinitive suffix; (noun) earlier enbusshe < Middle French embusche, derivative of the v.
Explanation
An ambush is a sneak attack. To ambush your enemy, hide and wait for him to come near and then pounce on him. In war or in backyards, an ambush is a great way to surprise someone. Ambush comes from a Latin word meaning “to place in a wood,” and hiding in the woods behind a tree is a classic starting point for an ambush. The actual attack is called an ambush, but ambush is also a verb, so you can ambush your mom by dropping water balloons on her head from a tree. Please don’t tell her where you got that idea.
Vocabulary lists containing ambush
Animal Farm
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"Diary of a Wimpy Kid" by Jeff Kinney
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"In the Spotlight," Vocabulary from the informational text
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
Its fantastical elements, from the ambush on Troy led by Matt Damon’s Odysseus to a giant cyclops that gobbles his men in a cave, were created primarily with physical effects for a more visceral impact.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 20, 2026
It is known as ambush marketing - and Fifa has been battling it since 1994.
From BBC ● Jun. 25, 2026
Growing to around 1 meter in length, the fish was likely an ambush predator that hunted smaller animals in freshwater systems.
From Science Daily ● May 25, 2026
Czesław is an ethnic Pole in the Red Army who escaped a ruthless German ambush.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 22, 2026
She flashes a rosy smile before turning away and finding a new dance partner to ambush.
From "Kwame Crashes the Underworld" by Craig Kofi Farmer
AFP spoke to his former business partner, ex-major Omar Rodriguez, who said that after a few desert ambushes last year, Quijano "paused" the operation.
From Barron's ● Dec. 21, 2025
The “What Not To Wear” system involved secret footage, ambushes, a “360 degree mirror” in which the subject was required to explain her old wardrobe, soon to be discarded forever.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 28, 2025
The airline sets cheap rates but ambushes customers with pesky little fees for every single facet of the flying experience, a nickel-and-diming scheme that bends not even for that glass of water.
From Slate ● Oct. 15, 2024
"There is only one thing that will save that park and that is if they start running intel, set up ambushes and make arrests. Otherwise nothing is going to change," she told the BBC.
From BBC ● Feb. 27, 2024
Sometimes these flashes of normality come at me from the side, like ambushes.
From "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood
It was a safe haven from the Germans, who feared being ambushed by the Resistance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
But he said disabled court users shouldn't be "ambushed by inaccessibility" and "have to undergo a resilience test" in going to court.
From BBC ● Jun. 14, 2026
Two National Guardsmen who were ambushed on duty in Washington received Purple Hearts, one posthumously.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 25, 2026
“Flying through blizzard conditions, his squadron was ambushed by seven Soviet fighter planes.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Feb. 25, 2026
April was ambushed by a quick pang of sympathy, remembering how it was—missing someone and having to face a new classroom.
From "The Egypt Game" by Zilpha Keatley Snyder
The turtles mainly hunt by hiding under water and ambushing their prey, he said.
From BBC ● Jun. 9, 2026
The design team, responding to the work’s fluidity, enjoys keeping us in the dark before ambushing us with unasked-for surprises.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 22, 2026
We’ve all seen the appalling videos of masked agents ambushing and abducting these migrants in the halls of New York’s immigration court as they’re leaving a hearing.
From Slate ● Mar. 27, 2026
Victor Caratini led off the top of the fifth, ambushing a first-pitch fastball and sending it over the wall in right-center for a solo homer and a 3-0 lead.
From Seattle Times ● May 30, 2024
By the time of the great Inca rebellion of 1536, the Incas had learned how best to defend themselves against cavalry, by ambushing and annihilating Spanish horsemen in narrow passes.
From "Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies" by Jared M. Diamond
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
