wire entanglement

American  

noun

1. a barbed-wire obstacle, usually mounted on posts and zigzagged back and forth along a front, designed to channel, delay, or halt an advance by enemy foot soldiers.

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wire entanglement British  

noun

1. a barrier or obstruction of barbed wire used in warfare

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Etymology

Origin of wire entanglement

First recorded in 1875–80

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

wire entanglement

In October 1916, under fierce enemy fire he succeeded in cutting an Austrian barbed wire entanglement and led a storming party to the capture of an important ridge position.

From Time Magazine Archive

That night the Cabinet threw a barbed wire entanglement and a cordon of troops around the Ballhaus, retired within and hammered out a compromise which did all present much credit.

From Time Magazine Archive

"Well, we were standing by the barbed wire entanglement, arguing the point, when suddenly some infernal imbecile in our own trenches—" "Cockerell, for a dollar!" murmurs Wagstaffe.

From The First Hundred Thousand by Ian Hay

Jerry surveyed it critically, even stepping back the better to see how the barbed wire entanglement ran along its apex.

From The Outdoor Chums at Cabin Point or The Golden Cup Mystery by Quincy Allen

They captured two lines of trenches, but, owing to the fact that the troops on their right were hung up by this wire entanglement, they were obliged to retire to their original line.

From New York Times Current History; The European War, Vol 2, No. 4, July, 1915 April-September, 1915 by Various

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