am ‧ bush /ˈæmbʊʃ/ BrE AmE noun [uncountable and countable]
[ Date: 1300-1400 ; Language: Old French ; Origin: embuschier , from en 'in' + busche 'wood' ]
a sudden attack on someone by people who have been hiding and waiting for them, or the place where this happens:
The soldiers were killed in an ambush.
In winter the danger of ambush is much reduced.
lie/wait in ambush
Armed police lay in ambush behind the hedge.
—ambush verb [transitive] :
Everybody thought our train would be ambushed, but we got out safely.
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THESAURUS
▪ attack noun [uncountable and countable] an act of using weapons against an enemy in a war:
The US was threatening to launch an attack on Iran.
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The men had been carrying out rocket attacks on British forces.
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Bombs have been falling throughout the night, and the city is still under attack (=being attacked) .
▪ invasion noun [uncountable and countable] an occasion when an army enters a country and tries to take control of it:
The Allies began their invasion of Europe.
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The threat of foreign invasion is very real.
▪ raid noun [countable] a short attack on a place by soldiers or planes, intended to cause damage but not take control:
an air raid
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NATO warplanes carried out a series of bombing raids on the city.
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The village has been the target of frequent raids by rebel groups.
▪ strike noun [countable] a sudden military attack, especially after a serious disagreement:
Senior Israeli officials warned that they were still considering a military strike.
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the possibility of a nuclear strike
▪ assault noun [countable] a military attack intended to take control of a city, area, or building controlled by an enemy:
The final military assault on Kwangju began at 3 am on May 27.
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Hitler launched an all-out assault (=using as many soldiers, weapons, planes etc as possible) on Russia.
▪ ambush noun [uncountable and countable] a sudden attack by people who have been waiting and hiding, especially an attack on a vehicle or people who are travelling somewhere:
Five soldiers were shot in the back and killled in the ambush.
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Enemy forces waiting in ambush opened fire on the vehicle.
▪ counterattack noun [uncountable and countable] a military attack made in response to an attack by an enemy:
Government forces launched a counterattack against the guerillas.
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If they successfully occupied the city, they would need to be capable of defending it against enemy counterattack.
▪ onslaught noun [countable] formal a large violent attack by an army:
In 1544 there was a full-scale onslaught on France, in which the English took Boulogne.
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The troops were preparing for another onslaught against the enemy.