ambush
nounverbcommon in dialogue
- Australia//ˈæm.bʊʃ//
The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack or kill by surprise.
noun
- 1
The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack or kill by surprise.
- 2
An attack launched from a concealed position.
Heaven, whose high walls fear no assault or siege / Or ambush from the deep.
- 3
The concealed position or state from which a surprise attack is launched.
the Georgean hills, Whoſe tops are couered with Tartarian theeues, That lie in ambuſh, waiting for a pray:
Therefore, why not wait in ambush for Conrad behind the door, and when he entered bring down a chair, or one of the decrepit pictures, smartly on to his head.
- 4
The troops posted in a concealed place, for attacking by surprise; those who lie in wait.
And the ambush arose quickly out of their place, and they ranne as soone as he had stretched out his hand: and they entred into the city, and tooke it, and hasted, and set the citie on fire.
- 5
A group of tigers.
“Having Chris Palmer part of this ambush of tigers is so exciting. He brings the experience and creative juices, but most of all, the passion and fun we all love about this job,” says Braun.
He outwits a positive ambush of tigers who want to eat him up and take his beautiful new clothes
Etymology
From Middle English enbuschen, from Old French enbuscier, anbuchier (verb) (whence Middle French embusche (noun)), from Old French en- + Vulgar Latin boscus (“wood”) (whence also bouquet), from Frankish *busk (“bush”), from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush, heavy stick”). Compare ambuscade. The change to am- from earlier forms in en- is unexplained. More at bush.
verb
- 1
obsoleteTo station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy.
By ambuſh’d men, behind their Temple laid, / VVe have the King of Mexico betray’d.
- 2
To attack by ambush; to waylay.
The contrast with the start was profound. In the opening 40 minutes Löw’s team had been ambushed here, the world champions run into a state of breathless trauma by a thrillingly vibrant Mexico attack.
Forms
- plural
- ambushes
- past tense
- ambushed
- past participle
- ambushed
- present participle
- ambushing
- third person singular
- ambushes
ambush · The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack or kill by surprise.
ambushed · Having been the target of an ambush.amelia · The congenital absence of one or more limbs.Amelia · A female given name from the Germanic languages.