as in attempts
an attack in which a place is bombed by military airplanes
Much of the city was destroyed in an air raid.
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Recent Examples of air raids
The family originally lived in Liverpool, but she was born in Blackpool, about 50 miles away, after Lillian was sent there while pregnant due to the risk of air raids in World War II.
—
Adam England, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025
Midnight curfews, daily air raids and wounded veterans on the runway put the reality of war front and centre.
—Finbarr Toesland, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2025
Grygorova, 19, who lives in Kharkiv, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border, said despite the constant rocket attacks, drones, air raids, and explosions, her thoughts are always with the people suffering through the continuous combat.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2025
Starting in the spring, Russia ramped up the intensity of its air raids against Ukraine, which reached a monthly record in July of 6,443 missiles and drones.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 8 Aug. 2025
Adam England, PEOPLE, 15 Nov. 2025
Midnight curfews, daily air raids and wounded veterans on the runway put the reality of war front and centre.
—Finbarr Toesland, Robb Report, 24 Sep. 2025
Grygorova, 19, who lives in Kharkiv, a city near the Ukrainian-Russian border, said despite the constant rocket attacks, drones, air raids, and explosions, her thoughts are always with the people suffering through the continuous combat.
—Terry Collins, USA Today, 16 Aug. 2025
Starting in the spring, Russia ramped up the intensity of its air raids against Ukraine, which reached a monthly record in July of 6,443 missiles and drones.
—Simon Shuster, Time, 8 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for air raids
Noun
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The meeting comes as Tokyo seeks to rein in a deepening diplomatic and trade rift with China while strengthening ties with allies to counter Beijing’s attempts to isolate Japan.—
Miranda Jeyaretnam,
Time,
13 Jan. 2026
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Those concerns echo as Adebayo suffers through a jarring offensive slump that has left him, statistically, among the league’s worst high-volume shooting centers on two-point and three-point attempts.—
Barry Jackson,
Miami Herald,
12 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Hamas has used the tunnels to store weapons, hide hostages and stage ambushes of Israeli soldiers.—
Samuel Granados,
New York Times,
12 Jan. 2026
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In basic multiplayer fashion, there are bottlenecked spaces for ambushes, and everything loops together just fine for flanking.—
Christopher Cruz,
Rolling Stone,
7 Oct. 2025
Noun
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Federal officials have said agents, including those part of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, are seeing increases in assaults and threats against them.—
Michael Loria,
USA Today,
11 Jan. 2026
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As in previous years, almost all the assaults on responsible growth management start with the premise that local government leaders can’t be trusted to guide (or even listen to) their own communities.—
Orlando Sentinel Editorial Board,
The Orlando Sentinel,
11 Jan. 2026
Noun
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Leading the effort is the ATF National Response Team, a specialized rapid-response force that responds to the nation’s highest-profile bombings, explosions and arson, including the 9/11 World Trade Center attack and the 1995 Oklahoma City bombing.—
Rebekah Riess,
CNN Money,
14 Oct. 2025
Cite this Entry
“Air raids.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/air%20raids. Accessed 16 Jan. 2026.
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