MEANING
To attack unexpectedly from a concealed position.
Use it for
A concealed attacker; safety overturned at a threshold; a victim caught before reactingArrange concealment first so the sudden attack feels earned.
Words that belong together
- ambush a patrol
- ambushed at the entrance
- ambush from concealment
On the page
The creature ambushed them at the service hatch.
They were ambushed before the floodlights warmed up.
Someone had chosen the corridor because it made visitors easy to ambush.
Nearby words
Related words
Word forms
- Base
- ambush / ambushes
- Past tense
- ambushed
- Past participle
- ambushed
- Present participle
- ambushing
Full tense & aspect guide
- Present
- ambush / ambushes
- Present continuous
- am/is/are ambushing
- Present perfect
- have/has ambushed
- Present perfect continuous
- have/has been ambushing
- Past
- ambushed
- Past continuous
- was/were ambushing
- Past perfect
- had ambushed
- Past perfect continuous
- had been ambushing
- Future
- will ambush / ambushes
- Future continuous
- will be ambushing
- Future perfect
- will have ambushed
- Future perfect continuous
- will have been ambushing
Choose the auxiliary that agrees with your subject. These are constructions of one word, not separate entries.
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Usage notes
Primary category: horror. Concealment and surprise are essential; not any confrontation. Also a noun for the attack or the concealed arrangement. Verb [base, third-person present, past, past participle, -ing]: ambush, ambushes, ambushed, ambushed, ambushing. Derived/related family (not inflections): ambusher (agent noun).
Practice this word in a sentenceYour margin notes
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