ambuscade
/ˈæmbəsˌkeɪd/noun, verb
ambuscade is spelled A-M-B-U-S-C-A-D-E: 9 letters. It appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, ambuscade means “An ambush; a trap laid for an enemy” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of ambuscade is ambuscades.
How many letters and syllables are in ambuscade?
| Letters | 9: A-M-B-U-S-C-A-D-E |
|---|---|
| In writing | about once in every 24 million words; the 148,541st most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is ambuscade?
Ambuscade appears about once in every 24 million words in written English, the 148,541st most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce ambuscade?
- /ˈæmbəsˌkeɪd/
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: LL-Q1860_(eng)-Vealhurl-ambuscade.wav, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of ambuscade
- ambuscades plural, present, singular, he/she/it
- ambuscading participle, present
- ambuscaded participle, past
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does ambuscade mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
datedAn ambush; a trap laid for an enemy.
- 2
The place in which troops lie hidden for an ambush.
- 3
The body of troops lying in ambush.
verb
- 1
datedTo lie in wait for, or to attack from a covert or lurking place; to waylay.
But aside from its love story, the picture is filled with the fighting and shooting, fording rivers with wagon trains, Indians ambuscading wagon trains, scouts who drink whisky and fight and ride magnificently.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Ambuscade in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | embuscade , embusquer |
| German | Hinterhalt , auflauern |
| Portuguese | emboscada , emboscar |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does ambuscade come from?
From French embuscade, from Italian imboscata from the past participle of imboscare (“to ambush”), from Vulgar Latin *imbosco (“I hide, ambush”) (see there for more), from Frankish *busk (“bush”), from Proto-Germanic *buskaz (“bush, heavy stick”). Compare ambush. More at bush.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).