bom ‧ bard /bɒmˈbɑːd $ bɑːmˈbɑːrd/ BrE AmE verb [transitive]
[ Date: 1400-1500 ; Language: French ; Origin: bombarder , from bombarde 'large gun' , probably from Latin bombus ; ⇨ ↑ bomb 1 ]
1 . to attack a place for a long time using large weapons, bombs etc:
I had been in action, bombarding the Normandy coast.
2 . to do something too often or too much, for example criticizing or questioning someone, or giving too much information:
The office was bombarded by telephone calls.
bombard somebody with something
They bombarded him with questions.
Today we are bombarded with advice on what to eat and what to avoid.
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THESAURUS
▪ shoot verb [intransitive and transitive] to use a gun to fire bullets, or to kill or injure someone using a gun:
He ordered his men to stop shooting.
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The guards shot the man as he was trying to escape.
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President Kennedy was shot by a lone gunman.
▪ fire verb [intransitive and transitive] to shoot bullets from a gun, or send an explosive object towards someone or something:
Soldiers fired into the crowd.
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Helicopters fired rockets at several buildings.
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He regained his balance, took aim, and fired.
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The police fired into the air to make the crowd break up.
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As soon as we crossed the border, enemy troops started firing at us.
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Kendrick fired three shots at the President’s car.
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Suddenly the car stopped, and the passenger got out and fired a Kalashnikov rifle at the police car.
▪ launch verb [transitive] to send a large rocket or ↑ missile into the air:
American warships launched cruise missiles.
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The guerrillas launched their rockets from densely populated towns.
▪ open fire to start shooting:
Nineteen students were injured after a gunman opened fire.
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Troops opened fire on a group of unarmed demonstrators.
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The colonel gave the order for the soldiers to open fire.
▪ shell verb [transitive] to fire shells (=metal containers filled with an explosive substance) at enemy soldiers, cities etc in a war, using large guns:
Border towns have been shelled by enemy aircraft for the past two months.
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British warships began shelling German positions along the coast.
▪ bombard verb [transitive] to attack a place for a long time with shells or bombs:
Allied forces bombarded the coast prior to the invasion.
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Troops bombarded the area with shells.
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The allied forces bombarded the enemy trenches for weeks.
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Cromwell’s men had been bombarding the fort with their artillery for several days.
▪ take a potshot at somebody/something to shoot at someone or something without aiming very carefully:
Someone tried to take a potshot at him, but hit the man behind instead.