ambush
pronunciation
How to pronounce ambush in British English:
UK [ˈæmbʊʃ]
How to pronounce ambush in American English:
US [ˈæmbʊʃ]
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- Noun:
- the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise
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- Verb:
- wait in hiding to attack
- hunt (quarry) by stalking and ambushing
Word Origin
- ambush
- ambush: [14] Originally, ambush meant literally ‘put in a bush’ – or more precisely ‘hide in a wood, from where one can make a surprise attack’. The hypothetical Vulgar Latin verb *imboscāre was formed from the prefix in- and the noun *boscus ‘bush, thicket’ (a word of Germanic origin, related to English bush). In Old French this became embuschier, and when English acquired it its prefix gradually became transformed into am-.In the 16th century, various related forms were borrowed into English – Spanish produced ambuscado, Italian was responsible for imboscata, and French embuscade was anglicized was ambuscade – but none now survives other than as an archaism.=> bush
- ambush (v.)
- c. 1300, from Old French embuscher (13c., Modern French embûcher) "to lay an ambush," from en- "in" + busch "wood," apparently from Frankish *busk "bush, woods" (see bush (n.)). Related: Ambushed; ambushing.
- ambush (n.)
- late 15c., embushe, from the English verb or from Middle French embusche, from Old French embuscher (see ambush (v.)). Earlier was ambushment (late 14c.). Figurative use by 1590s.
Example
- 1. The 2009 ambush leading to sgt. meyer 's recognition remains controversial .
- 2. A month later an ambush left at least 28 tajik soldiers dead .
- 3. I lost my eye in an ambush in the sri lankan civil war .
- 4. On june 28th mr bahadur 's men killed at least 23 soldiers in an ambush .
- 5. In a recent ambush more than 100 syrian soldiers are said to have been killed .