ambush

noun

plural ambushes

1

: a trap in which one or more concealed attackers lie in wait to attack by surprise

soldiers caught in an ambush

Suddenly a shout comes down the line: "Contact front!" It's an ambush, with gunmen on both sides of the road.

—Lev Grossman

2

: the concealed position from which a surprise attack is made

a group of soldiers lying in ambush

… tanks alone are vulnerable to opposing infantry with antitank weapons, particularly at night when the infantry can more easily wait in ambush or approach unseen.

—Neil Sheehan

also : an individual or group concealed for a surprise attack

All was then dead silence; for, loquacious as he was on other occasions, Captain Dalgetty knew well the necessity of an ambush keeping itself under covert.

—Robert Burns

3

: the act of approaching or confronting someone with something unexpected

—often used before another noun

ambush journalism

… did not return calls or e-mails and was hostile when a television crew conducted an ambush interview several years ago.

—Neely Tucker

Synonyms of ambush

• attack
• ambushment
• trap
• surprise

Examples of ambush in a Sentence

Many soldiers were killed in the ambush.

The soldiers were lying in ambush, waiting for the enemy to approach.

a snake waiting in ambush for its next meal

Recent Examples on the Web

Decapitating the leadership team of 60 Minutes and firing two distinguished correspondents last week…THAT was ambush. —Gillian Telling, PEOPLE, 4 June 2026

The organization says the rule helps protect sponsorship agreements with companies that pay to be official World Cup partners while preventing what’s known as ambush marketing. —Tiffani Jackson, Fort Worth Star-Telegram, 2 June 2026

The following year, in one of the most notorious incidents of the war, Naxals killed 76 members of the security forces in an ambush in Chhattisgarh. —Dhruv Tikekar, CNN Money, 30 May 2026

When a corporate crisis erupts—a product failure, a cultural firestorm, a regulatory ambush—the phone calls start immediately. —Rodger Dean Duncan, Forbes.com, 30 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

earlier enbusshe, borrowed from Middle French embusche, embusque, noun derivative of embuschier "to place (in the woods) in order to attack by surprise" — more at ambush entry 1

Note: For the initial am- in place of em- see note at ambush entry 1

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 2

Rhymes for ambush

• rosebush
• saltbush
• push
• tush

Kids Definition

ambush

1 of 2 verb

am·​bush ˈam-ˌbu̇sh 

: to attack from an ambush

ambush

2 of 2 noun

: a trap in which hidden persons wait to attack by surprise