bombard

1 of 2

noun

bom·​bard ˈbäm-ˌbärd 

: a late medieval cannon used to hurl large stones

bombard

2 of 2

verb

bom·​bard bäm-ˈbärd 

 also  bəm-

bombarded; bombarding; bombards

transitive verb

1

: to attack especially with artillery or bombers

2

: to assail vigorously or persistently (as with questions)

3

: to subject to the impact of rapidly moving particles (such as electrons)

bombardment

bäm-ˈbärd-mənt 

noun

Did you know?

In the late Middle Ages, a bombard was a cannon used to hurl large stones at enemy fortifications. Its name, which first appeared in English in the 15th century, comes from the Middle French bombarde, which in turn was probably a combination of the onomatopoeic bomb- and the suffix -arde (equivalent to the English ­-ard). The verb bombard blasted onto the scene in English in the 17th century, with an original meaning of "to attack especially with artillery"; as weapons technology improved throughout the centuries, such artillery came to include things like automatic rifles and bomber aircraft. Nowadays one can be bombarded figuratively in any number of ways, such as by omnipresent advertising messages or persistent phone calls.

Synonyms

Verb

• batter
• blitz
• blitzkrieg
• bomb
• cannonade
• shell

Choose the Right Synonym for bombard

attack, assail, assault, bombard, storm mean to make an onslaught upon.

attack implies taking the initiative in a struggle.

plan to attack the town at dawn

assail implies attempting to break down resistance by repeated blows or shots.

assailed the enemy with artillery fire

assault suggests a direct attempt to overpower by suddenness and violence of onslaught.

commandos assaulted the building from all sides

bombard applies to attacking with bombs or shells.

bombarded the city nightly

storm implies attempting to break into a defended position.

preparing to storm the fortress

Examples of bombard in a Sentence

Verb

The navy bombarded the shore.

Scientists bombarded the sample with X-rays.

The car was bombarded by rocks as it drove away from the angry crowd.

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

In ideal conditions, the Lyrids average about 10-15 meteors per hour, but can bombard the sky with up to 100! —USA TODAY, 17 Apr. 2024

Ukrainian Presidential Press Office via AP Russian missiles and drones have bombarded homes and energy infrastructure for weeks. —Daryna Mayer, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024

And yet, as a giant nuclear reactor, the sun insists on bombarding us with energy that, left unchecked, could burn all of us to a crisp. —Discover Magazine, 2 Apr. 2024

But because Europa is constantly bombarded by intense radiation created by Jupiter’s magnetic field, the Clipper spacecraft can’t orbit the moon itself. —Quanta Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024

In the six months since Oct. 7, Israel has bombarded Gaza and conducted a devastating ground invasion that has left much of the territory in ruins and more than 33,000 Palestinians dead, according to Palestinian health officials. —Becky Sullivan, NPR, 13 Apr. 2024

Basically, sun exposure bombards your skin cells with ultraviolet (UV) radiation. —Jessica Chia, SELF, 9 Apr. 2024

The influencer may be bombarded with messages, requests for advice and other demands on their time, which could distract from their work for the company. —Peter Su, Rolling Stone, 8 Apr. 2024

Rather than bombarding your audience with a high volume of posts, focus on creating content that provides real value and resonates with your target audience. —Sho Dewan, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English bombard, bumbard, borrowed from Middle French bombarde, probably from an onomatopoeic base bomb- + -arde -ard — more at bomb entry 1

Note: As with bomba, bombe, etc. (see note at bomb entry 1), the origin and diffusion of bombarda, bombarde, etc., remain incompletely elucidated. French bombarde, in reference to an engine of war, appears in the Vrayes chroniques of Jean le Bel, a history of the Hundred Years War begun in 1357 (see Dictionnaire du Moyen Français, online) and in the accounts of the Valenciennes city clerk Nicole de Dury from 1363 (see H. Caffiaux, Nicole de Dury, maître clerc de la ville de Valenciennes 1361-1373, Valenciennes, 1866, p. 103). Italian bombarda may be dependent on the French word, given that the earliest use of the word is in reference to artillery used at the battle of Crécy in 1346 (in the final book of the Nuova Cronica of Giovanni Villani, who died in 1348; manuscripts containing the final book are significantly later). The 1311 date given for bombarda in Trésor de la langue française, Cortelazzo and Zolli's Dizionario etimologico della lingua italiana, and a number of earlier sources from which they draw (as the Enciclopedia Italiana) is incorrect; the text in question, the Polystorio or Polyhistoria by Niccolò da Ferrara (not Bartolomeo da Ferrara), alludes to events of 1311 but was written sometime after 1367, when the chronicle ends, at the court of Niccolò II d'Este, marquess of Ferrara from 1361 (cf. Richard Tristano, "History 'Without Scruple': The Enlightenment Confronts the Middle Ages in Renaissance Ferrara," Medievalia et Humanistica, new series, no. 38 [2012], p. 85). Spanish lombarda, attested about 1400, is clearly a folk-etymologizing of bombarda (pace Coromines' etymology in Diccionario crítico-etimológico castellano e hispánico, which does not take account of the earlier French forms).

Verb

earlier, "to fire a large cannon," borrowed from Middle French bombarder, verbal derivative of bombarde bombard entry 1

First Known Use

Noun

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb

1686, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

bombard

verb

bom·​bard

bäm-ˈbärd,

 also  bəm-

1

: to attack especially with artillery or bombers

2

: to attack forcefully or continuously (as with questions)

3

: to put under the force of rapidly moving particles (as electrons or alpha rays)

bombardment

-mənt

noun