air raid
air raid
Pronunciation
air raid
/ˈɛr ˌreɪd/
air:
/ɛər/ - Diphthong (vowel sound changing within the syllable)
raid:
/r/ - Consonant
/eɪ/ - Diphthong
/d/ - Consonant
Word Form Variations
Singular Noun: air raid
Plural Noun: air raids
Verb (often hyphenated when used as a verb, though less common): air-raid (e.g., "They will air-raid the city.")
Past Tense Verb: air-raided
Present Participle/Gerund: air-raiding
Definitions, Synonyms and Antonyms
Noun
Definition 1: A sudden and unannounced attack carried out by military aircraft, typically involving the dropping of bombs or the firing of missiles, aimed at strategic targets or population centers.
Synonyms: aerial bombardment, bombing raid, airstrike, aerial attack, blitz (informal)
Antonyms: defense, protection, peace, cessation of hostilities
Verb
Definition 1: To attack a location, typically a city or strategic target, from the air using military aircraft, often with bombs or missiles.
Synonyms: bomb, strafe, attack by air, shell (from air)
Antonyms: defend, protect, safeguard, shelter
Examples of Use
Books: "The Diary of a Young Girl by Anne Frank vividly describes the fear and disruption caused by frequent air raids in Amsterdam during World War II, forcing her family into hiding."
Newspapers: "Authorities issued an air raid warning for Kyiv this morning as Russian forces continued their aerial bombardment campaign." (The Guardian, June 2023)
Online Publications: "Historians debate the effectiveness of the Dresden air raid in shortening World War II, considering the immense civilian casualties." (BBC News Online, February 2023)
Entertainment Mediums (Film): "The classic film Dunkirk features intense scenes depicting soldiers enduring relentless air raids by German Stuka dive-bombers on the beaches of France."
Entertainment Platforms (Video Game): "In the video game Call of Duty: WWII, players often experience frantic moments ducking for cover during air raids launched by enemy aircraft."
General Public Discourse: "My grandmother still talks about huddling in the cellar during the air raids when she was a little girl in London."
10 Famous Quotes Using Air Raid
"Let us think what we can do to create the only efficient air raid shelter while the guns on the hill go pop pop pop and the searchlights finger the clouds and now and then, sometimes close at hand, sometimes far away a bomb drops." (Virginia Woolf, Thoughts on Peace in an Air Raid, 1940)
"The town's air raid sirens were sounded at 11:58 am when the bombers were sighted." (Bombing of Darwin)
"Though the curfew isn't enforced as strictly as it once was, air raid sirens remain a regular occurrence." (Wall Street Journal, 2022)
"She was astonishingly cool about air raids." (Wall Street Journal, 2022)
"A mobile app, for instance, alerts people to air raids." (Wall Street Journal, 2022)
"Staff no longer duck for cover when there are air raid warnings, which they say are too numerous to take seriously." (Wall Street Journal, 2022)
"They have to continue the air raids." (Wall Street Journal, 2023)
"My grandmother still talks about huddling in the cellar during the air raids when she was a little girl in London." (General public discourse)
"During the Second World War, we lived in a flat on Whitechapel Road in the East End of London. At one point during the blitz, the air-raid sirens went off every night for 30 nights, and each time, my parents would grab my sister and me and take us to the shelter beneath Whitechapel underground station." (Steven Berkoff)
"I acquired a hunger for fairy tales in the dark days of blackout and blitz in the Second World War." (A.S. Byatt) - Note: While "blitz" is used here as a shorthand, it directly refers to the intensive air raid campaign.
Etymology
The word "air raid" is a pretty straightforward combination of two older words: "air" and "raid."
Let's break it down:
"Air": This part refers to something happening by aircraft or in the sky. The word "air" itself has ancient roots, going back to Latin and Greek words for mist, haze, and eventually the atmosphere around us.
"Raid": This word originally meant a sudden journey or expedition, often a hostile one, like a mounted military attack to plunder. It comes from an Old English word related to "ride" and "road." Over time, "raid" started being used for any sudden, vigorous attack, like a police raid.
So, when you put them together, "air raid" literally means an "attack from the air" or a "raid by aircraft."
The first known use of "air raid" as we understand it today—an attack by aircraft against ground targets, typically involving bombs—appeared around 1914, right at the beginning of World War I. It was specifically used to describe British attacks on German Zeppelin bases. Before this, while there were very early forms of aerial bombing (like balloons carrying bombs in the mid-1800s), the term "air raid" became common as aviation developed and aerial attacks became a more regular part of warfare.
Phrases + Idioms Containing Air Raid
"Air raid siren wail": Describing the sound of an impending attack.
"Under air raid conditions": Referring to a state of constant threat from aerial attacks.
"An air raid drill": A practice exercise for responding to an aerial attack.
"To brave an air raid": To face or endure an aerial attack.
"Shelter from the air raid": To seek protection during an aerial attack.
"Like a sudden air raid": Used to describe something that happens very suddenly and disruptively, often unexpectedly.
"To launch an air raid": To initiate an aerial attack.
"Clear the decks for an air raid": (Figurative) To prepare for an imminent and significant disruptive event, similar to preparing for a major offensive.
"A verbal air raid": (Figurative, original) A sudden and overwhelming barrage of criticism or complaints.
"Blitz mentality": While "blitz" is a synonym for a large-scale air raid, this idiom refers to a defiant, resilient attitude in the face of sustained difficulty or attack, particularly inspired by the London Blitz.
Vocabulary-Based Stories from SEA
Source Information
Definition of air raid from The Academic Glossary at Self Exploration Academy, a Urikville Press Publication. © All rights reserved.
