Bombard

Pronunciation

Origin

From French bombarde bombard (as cannon), itself from Latin bombus ("buzzing; booming").

Full definition of bombard

Noun

1. a medieval primitive cannon, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls.
• KnollesThey planted in divers places twelve great bombards, wherewith they threw huge stones into the air, which, falling down into the city, might break down the houses.
2. (obsolete) a bassoon-like medieval instrument
3. (obsolete) a large liquor container made of leather, in the form of a jug or a bottle.
• 1610, , by William Shakespeare, act 2 scene 2... yond same black cloud, yond huge one,
  looks like a foul bombard that would shed his liquor.
4. (poetic, rare) A bombardment.
5. (music) A bombardon.

Verb

1. To attack something with bombs, artillery shells or other missiles or projectiles.
2. (figuratively) To attack something or someone by directing objects at them.
3. (physics) To direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms.

Synonyms

• bomb

Derived terms