ambush
- 01 B2 Upper Intermediate
a surprise attack by people who were hiding and waiting.
a sudden attack launched from a concealed position against an unsuspecting target.
Simple“The soldiers were caught in an ambush while walking through the narrow valley.”
In context“The rebels planned a sophisticated ambush along the supply route, waiting for the convoy to enter the gorge before opening fire.”
UsageOften used with the verbs 'lay', 'set', or 'fall into'.
Synonymssurprise attacktrap
“An ambush has killed two United Nations peacekeepers in South Sudan.”
“Tete, 38, was gunned down in what has been described as an ambush in Mdantsane, Eastern Cape.”
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.
Etymology adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.