ambush

English

Etymology

From Middle English enbuschen, from Old French enbuscier, anbuchier (verb) (whence Middle French embusche (noun)), from Old French en- + Vulgar Latin boscus (“wood”), 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.

Pronunciation

• (General Australian, US, UK) IPA^(key): /ˈæm.bʊʃ/

  • Audio (UK)

    (file)

Noun

ambush (plural ambushes)

1. The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack by surprise.
2. An attack launched from a concealed position.
   • 1667, John Milton, “Book 2”, in Paradise Lost. A Poem Written in Ten Books, London: […] [Samuel Simmons], […], OCLC 228722708; republished as Paradise Lost in Ten Books: […], London: Basil Montagu Pickering […], 1873, OCLC 230729554:

     Heaven, whose high walls fear no assault or siege / Or ambush from the deep.

3. The troops posted in a concealed place, for attacking by surprise; those who lie in wait.
   • 1611, The Holy Bible, […] (King James Version), London: […] Robert Barker, […], OCLC 964384981, Joshu 8:19:

Derived terms

• ambush bug
• ambushee
• ambusher
• ambush journalism
• ambush marketing
• ambushment
• ambush predator
• antiambush
• enambush

 

Translations

act

• Apache:

  Western Apache: yidáh nehedzaa

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Azerbaijani: pusqu
• Belarusian: заса́да f (zasáda)
• Finnish: väijytys (fi)
• German: Hinterhalt (de) f

• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Korean: 매복 (ko) (maebok)
• Old English: sǣt f
• Russian: заса́да (ru) f (zasáda)
• Spanish: emboscada (es) f

attack

• Armenian: please add this translation if you can
• Azerbaijani: pusqu
• Belarusian: заса́да f (zasáda)
• Catalan: emboscada f
• Finnish: ylläkkö, yllätyshyökkäys (fi); tuliylläkkö (military)
• French: embuscade (fr) f
• Hindi: please add this translation if you can

• Italian: imboscata (it) f
• Maori: urumaranga
• Polish: zasadzka (pl) f
• Portuguese: emboscada (pt) f
• Russian: заса́да (ru) f (zasáda)
• Spanish: emboscada (es) f
• Ukrainian: за́сідка f (zásidka), заса́да (uk) f (zasáda), підсі́дка f (pidsídka)

troops

• Azerbaijani: pusqu
• Finnish: väijytysjoukko
• French: embuscade (fr) f

• Hindi: please add this translation if you can
• Russian: заса́да (ru) f (zasáda)

The translations below need to be checked and inserted above into the appropriate translation tables, removing any numbers. Numbers do not necessarily match those in definitions. See instructions at Wiktionary:Entry layout § Translations.

Translations to be checked

• Arabic: كَمِين‎ m (kamīn)
• Armenian: դարան (hy) (daran)
• Bulgarian: заса́да (bg) f (zasáda), кло́пка (bg) f (klópka)
• Cherokee: ᎠᏓᎭᎷᏗ (adahaludi)
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 埋伏 (zh) (máifu), 伏擊 (zh), 伏击 (zh) (fújī)

  Mandarin: 埋伏 (zh)

• Czech: záloha (cs) f
• Danish: bagholdsangreb n, baghold n ; baghold n
• Dutch: hinderlaag (nl) m or f ; hinderlaag (nl) m or f
• French: embuscade (fr) f
• German: Hinterhalt (de) m
• Greek: ενέδρα (el) f (enédra)

  Ancient: ἐνέδρα f (enédra)

• Hebrew: מארב‎ m (maarav)
• Hungarian: leshely (hu) ; csapda (hu)
• Indonesian: penyergapan (id)

• Italian: imboscata (it) f
• Japanese: 待ち伏せ (ja) (まちぶせ, machibuse) ; 不意打ち (ja) (ふいうち, fuiuchi)
• Latin: īnsidiae f pl
• Lithuanian: ^{(please verify)} pasala f
• Macedonian: заседа f (zaseda)
• Maori: kuratopuni, kauaeroa, torohē, urumaranga, pūniho
• Polish: zasadzka (pl) f
• Portuguese: emboscada (pt) f ; tocaia (pt) f
• Serbo-Croatian:

  Cyrillic: за̑сједа f, за̑седа f

  Roman: zȃsjeda (sh) f, zȃseda (sh) f

• Spanish: encerrona
• Swedish: bakhåll (sv) n ; bakhåll (sv) n
• Tagalog: abat (tl)
• Turkish: pusu (tr), tuzak (tr)
• Vietnamese: đánh úp (vi), mai phục (vi)

Verb

ambush (third-person singular simple present ambushes, present participle ambushing, simple past and past participle ambushed)

1. (transitive) To station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy.
   • 1665, John Dryden, The Indian Emperour

     By ambush'd men behind their temple laid / We have the king of Mexico betray'd.

2. (transitive) To attack by ambush; to waylay.
   • 2018 June 17, Barney Ronay, “Mexico’s Hirving Lozano stuns world champions Germany for brilliant win”, in Katharine Viner, editor, The Guardian‎^[1], London: Guardian News & Media, ISSN 0261-3077, OCLC 229952407, archived from the original on 5 August 2019:

     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.

Derived terms

• ambushable

Translations

to station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy

• Armenian: դարանակալել (hy) (daranakalel)
• Azerbaijani: pusmaq
• Bulgarian: устройвам засада (ustrojvam zasada)
• Cebuano: banhig
• Chinese:

  Mandarin: 伏擊 (zh), 伏击 (zh) (fújī), 打埋伏 (zh) (dǎ máifu)

• Finnish: väijyä (fi)
• German: einen Hinterhalt legen
• Greek: ενεδρεύω (el) (enedrévo)

• Hebrew: אָרַב‎ (he) (aráv)
• Japanese: 待ち伏せする (ja) (まちぶせする, machibuse suru)
• Maori: pehipehi, whakamoke, haupapa
• Portuguese: emboscar (pt)
• Russian: устра́ивать заса́ду impf (ustráivatʹ zasádu) (intransitive)
• Spanish: emboscar (es)
• Swedish: ligga i bakhåll
• Tagalog: abatan

to attack by ambush; to waylay

• Armenian: դարանակալել (hy) (daranakalel)
• Bulgarian: причаквам (bg) (pričakvam), нападам от засада (napadam ot zasada)
• Catalan: emboscar (ca)
• Finnish: hyökkää väijyksistä (+ genitive +) kimppuun, väijyttää
• French: embusquer (fr)
• German: aus dem Hinterhalt angreifen
• Indonesian: sergapan (id)

• Japanese: 不意打ちする (ja) (ふいうちする, fuiuchi suru)
• Malay: sergap, serangan hendap
• Maori: kauaeroa, whakamoho, whakamoke, haupapa, tāwhanga
• Portuguese: emboscar (pt)
• Russian: напада́ть из заса́ды impf (napadátʹ iz zasády) (intransitive)
• Spanish: emboscar (es)

Further reading

• ambush at OneLook Dictionary Search
• ambush in The Century Dictionary, New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., 1911.