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

Merz and Zelenskyy visited a building of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine in central Kyiv that was damaged in a Russian attack that killed two people on Monday, as air raid sirens sounded across the capital. — Arkansas Online, 5 Oct. 2026

The attacks and the air raid alerts that accompany them have severely disrupted life in the city, forcing millions to constantly seek shelter and paralyzing the capital’s businesses and transport networks. — Yuliya Talmazan, NBC news, 5 Oct. 2026

On August 27, Kyiv registered a record 13 air raid alerts in a single day. — Dmytro Kuleba, Foreign Affairs, 30 Sep. 2026

Mary Josephine Booth was familiar with the sound of the air raid sirens by then. — April White, JSTOR Daily, 23 Sep. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

1909, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for air raid

• afraid
• allayed
• arcade
• arrayed
• assayed
• barmaid
• betrayed
• blockade
• bridesmaid
• brigade
• brocade
• buffeted

Kids Definition

air raid

noun

: an attack by armed airplanes on a surface target