Link Centre Dictionary

ambush

am·bush

UK/ˈæm.bʊʃ/ US/ˈæˌmbʊʃ/ fairly common
noun (1) verb (2)

noun

1.

the act of concealing yourself and lying in wait to attack by surprise

Synonyms

verb

1.
2.

hunt (quarry) by stalking and ambushing

Synonyms

Origin

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.

Phrases

  • ambush bug
  • ambush journalism
  • ambush marketing
  • ambush predator
  • ambush television
  • lie in ambush
  • patent ambush

Related words

Word family

Broader terms

Narrower terms

WordNet 2.1 (Princeton University). Wiktionary (CC BY-SA). CMU Pronouncing Dictionary. WordNet 2.1 Copyright Princeton University. All rights reserved. Wiktionary content is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike Licence.