air raid

noun

: an attack by armed airplanes on a surface target
usually hyphenated when used attributively
air-raid shelter

Examples of air raid in a Sentence

Much of the city was destroyed in an air raid.
Recent Examples on the Web Booms and air raid sirens sounded across Israel early Sunday after Iran launched hundreds of drones, ballistic missiles and cruise missiles in an unprecedented revenge mission that pushed the Middle East closer to a regionwide war. Joseph Federman, Fortune, 14 Apr. 2024 Instead, air raid alarms would be sent directly to mobile devices. Siobhán O'Grady, Washington Post, 22 Mar. 2024 The rescue came amid an overnight air raid on the southern town of Rafah, which is packed with some 1.4 million people, most of whom fled their homes elsewhere in Gaza to escape fighting. Bradford Betz, Fox News, 12 Feb. 2024 Another video, recorded moments later, shows the same drone veering left as loud air raid sirens muffle the propeller’s noise. Vasco Cotovio, CNN, 2 Apr. 2024 There came a night every fall when there was either a spooky air raid underway or Grand Avenue Ford was about to pull the canvases off the new models. Joe Soucheray, Twin Cities, 20 Jan. 2024 That is increasingly at odds with the reality of regular air raid sirens and deadly Ukrainian missile and drone strikes on the city, including one on Thursday that killed two people and injured 19. Valerie Hopkins, New York Times, 15 Mar. 2024 An air raid alert continued for five hours in Kyiv, Russia’s primary target. Katya Soldak, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2023 The air raid alert began at about 6 a.m. local time and lasted for about three hours. Yulia Drozd, ABC News, 7 Feb. 2024

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'air raid.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of air raid was in 1909

Dictionary Entries Near air raid

Cite this Entry

“Air raid.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/air%20raid. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

air raid

noun
: an attack by armed airplanes on a surface target

More from Merriam-Webster on air raid

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!