AMBUSH


Meaning of AMBUSH in English

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.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.