ambush 1 of 2

1
as in attack
a setup in which hidden attackers lie in wait revolutionaries laid in ambush for the king along the route his carriage would travel

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2
as in trap
a device or scheme for capturing another by surprise thinking that he was getting into his assigned limousine, the diplomat did not realize that he was the victim of an ambush as he was being lured into his captor's car

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ambush

2 of 2

verb

as in to attack
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of ambush
Noun
There’s clearly more to her little dinner ambush than figuring out what Mark knows. Erik Kain, Forbes, 21 Feb. 2025 Within days, three men were arrested for the ambush, which was captured on video that circulated on social media at the time. Jami Ganz, New York Daily News, 17 Jan. 2025
Verb
Bagshaw didn’t have the chance to use his radio or get out of his cruiser before he was ambushed and killed, according to the Connecticut State Police Academy Alumni Association. Staff Report, Hartford Courant, 7 Feb. 2025 She feels enraged, ambushed, attacked from all sides. David Fear, Rolling Stone, 5 Feb. 2025 See All Example Sentences for ambush
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambush
Noun
  • But in light of ongoing attacks against PayPal accounts using emails sent from genuine PayPal addresses, how will this help protect you from hackers and scammers?
    Davey Winder, Forbes, 1 Mar. 2025
  • Hamas started the war with its Oct. 7, 2023, attack that left 1,200 dead in Israel, mostly civilians, and took some 250 hostage.
    Samy Magdy and David Rising, Los Angeles Times, 1 Mar. 2025
Noun
  • Many business owners fall into the trap of believing that busyness is the same as being productive.
    Melissa Houston, Forbes, 19 Feb. 2025
  • Another slice of the trailer appears to be showing a chain of explosions going off, indicating that players might be able to set up more complex traps or breaches than currently.
    Josh Hammer, Newsweek, 17 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • The owner of a Wisconsin ski hill is accused of assaulting a 17-year-old boy who did not pay for an entry pass, authorities say.
    Mike Stunson, Kansas City Star, 26 Feb. 2025
  • He was also convicted of assaulting a child over an eight-year period between 2010 and 2018.
    Jake Kanter, Deadline, 25 Feb. 2025
Noun
  • The snare sound, for example, was the thin, ticky-ticky style originally popularized in hip-hop recordings, instead of Nir Z’s thicker snare pops.
    Tom Roland, Billboard, 29 Jan. 2025
  • Four tenors, four snares and two bass have been ordered through Axel Johnson.
    Contributed Content, Twin Cities, 7 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • In late November, Israeli forces opened fire on looters waiting to waylay trucks in Rafah, forcing them to retreat, according to an internal U.N. memo.
    Adam Rasgon, New York Times, 23 Dec. 2024
  • On the corporate front, the timing of the showdown has not been ideal for Paramount, whose pending $8 billion merger with Skydance Media has been waylaid by complaints about CBS News by President Donald Trump.
    Dade Hayes, Deadline, 15 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Again, no one should be surprised by Wednesday’s announcement.
    Bill McKibben, The New Yorker, 28 Feb. 2025
  • The announcement did not surprise the market given Trump had previously alluded to the move, during discussion of his upcoming 25% tariffs on steel and aluminium, Piotr Ortonowski, head of copper market analysis at Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, told CNBC.
    Jenni Reid, CNBC, 27 Feb. 2025
Verb
  • Perhaps most intriguing is the new high-res photo mode which captures a 177-megapixel image and can be used without a tripod according to Panasonic.
    Julian Chokkattu, WIRED, 1 Mar. 2025
  • This is before phones with cameras were ubiquitous at shows, but some enterprising fans still captured much of the set.
    Andy Greene, Rolling Stone, 1 Mar. 2025

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Cite this Entry

“Ambush.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambush. Accessed 5 Mar. 2025.

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