ambush
noun
[ ˈambʊʃ ]
• a surprise attack by people lying in wait in a concealed position.
• "seven members of a patrol were killed in an ambush"
ambush
verb
• make a surprise attack on (someone) from a concealed position.
• "they were ambushed and taken prisoner by the enemy"
Similar:
attack by surprise,
trap,
surprise,
pounce on,
lay a trap for,
set an ambush for,
lie in wait for,
waylay,
entrap,
ensnare,
bushwhack,
ambuscade,
Origin:
Middle English (in the sense ‘place troops in hiding in order to surprise an enemy’): from Old French embusche (noun), embuschier (verb), based on a late Latin word meaning ‘to place in a wood’; related to bush1.
