bushwhack

verb

bush·whack ˈbu̇sh-ˌ(h)wak

bushwhacked; bushwhacking; bushwhacks

transitive : to attack (someone) by surprise from a hidden place : ambush

… the American banditti robbed trains and bushwhacked stagecoaches and settlers' caravans with equal enthusiasm for fistic violence and gunplay.—

James Gray

Williams wears a pistol when he goes into the countryside and worries that someone might bushwhack him because he is outspoken.—

Monty Brower and Bill Shaw

intransitive

: to travel by foot through uncleared terrain

Other beaches have no access at all; you have to bushwhack to get to them, through terrain infested with rattlesnakes, poison oak, and other hazards.—

Anthony Brandt

No paths presented themselves and I bushwhacked through numerous fallen and dead trees.—

Rob Nicholson

… decided it was best to "bushwhack," or wander off the path to get closer to the barred owl and possibly catch a glimpse of it.—

Eric Koszalka

: to clear a path or advance through thick woods especially by chopping down bushes and low branches

… it would allow them to locate their prey without having to bushwhack through the jungle for days or weeks.—

Earth Island Journal

bushwhacker noun

Examples of bushwhack in a Sentence

The group bushwhacked through the jungle. They used the controversy as an opportunity to bushwhack their political opponents.

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

But their grueling three-hour journey of uphill bushwhacking in the rain ended in disappointment. —

Shi En Kim, Smithsonian Magazine, 30 Oct. 2024 On the fifth day of bushwhacking, Ernest-Beck lost his helmet. —

Corbin Reiff, Outside Online, 22 Oct. 2024 Three years ago, the county created a team to bushwhack through a thicket of bureaucracy to get the jail closed and the inmates diverted. —

Rebecca Ellis, Los Angeles Times, 5 Oct. 2024 The first Europeans arrived in 1493, when Columbus bushwhacked onto the island’s shores. —

Brenna Ehrlich, Rolling Stone, 15 July 2024 See all Example Sentences for bushwhack