as in attacking
to lie in wait for and attack by surprise
the king's enemies planned to ambush the royal coach on the way to Paris and capture the king
Synonyms & Similar Words
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Recent Examples of ambushing
The man accused of ambushing West Virginia National Guard members near the White House in November, killing one and severely wounding another, is set to be arraigned in court on Wednesday.
—
Steve Beynon, ABC News, 4 Feb. 2026
The man accused of ambushing two West Virginia National Guard members in a shooting in the nation's capital, killing one and wounding another, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
Among the Builsa people, songs are still sung about retreating from slave raiders into rocky and cavernous areas, and then ambushing them.
—Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
Over the past two months, JNIM has stepped up attacks on fuel supplies, ambushing tankers on the roads from Ivory Coast and Senegal.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
After ambushing Fuller at her mansion, Teddy and his accomplice/cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) knock her unconscious with a tranquilizer and load her into the backseat of her own car.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
The offense also turned in another strong performance, ambushing Scherzer for three runs out of the gate before later getting home runs from Masataka Yoshida and Carlos Narvaez to turn the game into a rout.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
The entertainment giant accused Sling TV’s parent of ambushing it with the offering, allegedly without consultation, to capitalize on the starts of the college football and NFL seasons.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The president has constantly mocked Powell on social media, and accused him of mismanaging renovations of the Fed’s headquarters, even ambushing the Fed chief with a new cost estimate for a facility renovation in front of rolling television cameras.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 29 Aug. 2025
Steve Beynon, ABC News, 4 Feb. 2026
The man accused of ambushing two West Virginia National Guard members in a shooting in the nation's capital, killing one and wounding another, has pleaded not guilty to nine charges.
—N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 4 Feb. 2026
Among the Builsa people, songs are still sung about retreating from slave raiders into rocky and cavernous areas, and then ambushing them.
—Literary Hub, 5 Dec. 2025
Over the past two months, JNIM has stepped up attacks on fuel supplies, ambushing tankers on the roads from Ivory Coast and Senegal.
—Tim Lister, CNN Money, 2 Nov. 2025
After ambushing Fuller at her mansion, Teddy and his accomplice/cousin Don (Aidan Delbis) knock her unconscious with a tranquilizer and load her into the backseat of her own car.
—Lauren Huff, Entertainment Weekly, 29 Oct. 2025
The offense also turned in another strong performance, ambushing Scherzer for three runs out of the gate before later getting home runs from Masataka Yoshida and Carlos Narvaez to turn the game into a rout.
—Mac Cerullo, Boston Herald, 25 Sep. 2025
The entertainment giant accused Sling TV’s parent of ambushing it with the offering, allegedly without consultation, to capitalize on the starts of the college football and NFL seasons.
—Winston Cho, HollywoodReporter, 9 Sep. 2025
The president has constantly mocked Powell on social media, and accused him of mismanaging renovations of the Fed’s headquarters, even ambushing the Fed chief with a new cost estimate for a facility renovation in front of rolling television cameras.
—Tobias Burns, The Hill, 29 Aug. 2025
Recent Examples of Synonyms for ambushing
Verb
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Instead of attacking, linemen are often tasked with reading, reacting and playing two different gaps.—
Joseph Hoyt,
Dallas Morning News,
26 Feb. 2026
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Some ghouls lose their humanity, while others become more violent shells of their former selves, attacking the wasteland creatures and the player.—
Destiny Jackson,
Deadline,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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He was charged with assaulting NYPD officers.—
Washington Examiner Staff,
The Washington Examiner,
27 Feb. 2026
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By 2012, Epstein had been accused of molesting and assaulting girls in 23 different civil lawsuits.—
Julie K. Brown,
Miami Herald,
26 Feb. 2026
Verb
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Photographers hoping to immortalize their own views of the blood moon should read our expert's guide to capturing a total lunar eclipse, along with our roundups of the best cameras and lenses for astrophotography.—
Anthony Wood,
Space.com,
1 Mar. 2026
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Shortly after the man appeared on camera, the surveillance system appeared to stop capturing video.—
Christa Swanson,
CBS News,
28 Feb. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Ambushing.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/ambushing. Accessed 4 Mar. 2026.
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