Bushwhack
[BUSH-whak]
Part of speech: verb
Origin: American English, mid-19th century
1.
To move through the woods, cutting away branches and growth as you travel
2.
To fight with an ambush attack
Examples of Bushwhack in a sentence
"The property was so overgrown he had to bushwack his way to the original house. "
"Instead of bushwhacking, a modern soldier might hunt down his target with technology."
About Bushwhack
Bushwhack is a verb that means exactly what it sounds like: you have to whack through brush and scrub to make your way through a forest. To bushwhack is to launch a surprise attack, or to ambush. Ambush can be used as a noun or a verb, but the noun form of bushwhack is bushwhacker. Don’t get surprised by these words.
Did you Know?
Bushwhack is a uniquely American term. In the early 19th century a word was needed to describe the men hacking through forests to make their homes. Enter the noun bushwhacker. Then bushwhacking (the verb) was used to describe the guerilla methods of Confederate soldiers. Now the word is still used for anyone cutting their way through the woods.
