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”) (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. === Pronunciation === (General Australian, US, UK) IPA(key): /ˈæm.bʊʃ/ Rhymes: -æmbʊʃ === Noun === ambush (plural ambushes) The act of concealing oneself and lying in wait to attack or kill by surprise. An attack launched from a concealed position. The concealed position or state from which a surprise attack is launched. The troops posted in a concealed place, for attacking by surprise; those who lie in wait. ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Descendants ==== → Hebrew: אַמְבּוּשׁ (ámbush) ==== Translations ==== === Verb === ambush (third-person singular simple present ambushes, present participle ambushing, simple past and past participle ambushed) (transitive) To station in ambush with a view to surprise an enemy. (transitive) To attack by ambush; to waylay. Synonym: jump ==== Derived terms ==== ==== Translations ==== === Further reading === “ambush”, in OneLook Dictionary Search. William Dwight Whitney, Benjamin E[li] Smith, editors (1911), “ambush”, in The Century Dictionary […], New York, N.Y.: The Century Co., →OCLC.