crossfire
English
[edit]Etymology
[edit]Etymology tree
Pronunciation
[edit]- (Received Pronunciation) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɒsfaɪə/
- (US) IPA(key): /ˈkɹɔːsfaɪɹ/
Audio (US): (file) - Hyphenation: cross‧fire
Noun
[edit]
crossfire (countable and uncountable, plural crossfires)
- (military) An arrangement of two or more weapons so each can fire diagonally at something in front of a line between them.
- The danger to a third party passing between two belligerents firing at one another.
- The two factions were either side of the road. A civilian lorry was caught in the crossfire and became collateral damage
- The danger to a third party passing between a gunman and his target.
- 2024 May 15, Geneva Abdul, “Woman hit in London drive-by shooting was not intended target, police say”, in The Guardian[1]:
- A woman who was caught in the crossfire of a drive-by shooting in north London on Tuesday evening was not the intended target, police have said.
- (by extension) A heated confrontation between opposing factions.
Translations
[edit]lines of fire
|
heated confrontation
|
Categories:
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European word *péh₂wr̥
- English terms derived from the Proto-Indo-European root *(s)ker- (turn)
- English terms prefixed with cross-
- English 3-syllable words
- English terms with IPA pronunciation
- English 2-syllable words
- English terms with audio pronunciation
- English lemmas
- English nouns
- English uncountable nouns
- English countable nouns
- en:Military
- English terms with usage examples
- English terms with quotations