bombard

bombard — verb

1. to keep hitting a place with bombs, shells, or rockets over a period of time.

1.verbtransitiveC1
Definition

to keep hitting a place with bombs, shells, or rockets over a period of time.

Example

Enemy planes bombarded the harbor through the long winter night.

bombard + place with repeated military attack

By dawn, the hill town had been bombarded for three hours.

passive: be bombarded for + time period

Common collocations
  • bombard the city
  • bombard the coast
  • heavily bombard
  • be bombarded by rockets
Synonyms
  • shell

    focuses on guns and shells rather than bombs from aircraft

  • pound

    more general; stresses the repeated force of the attack

  • blast

    broader and often used for one explosion or short attack

Grammar Patterns

bombard + place + with bombs / shells / rockets

be bombarded by + aircraft / ships / rockets

Usage Note

Often passive in news reports: towns, ports, and villages are bombarded by planes, ships, or rockets. Distinguish from sense 2, where no real weapons are involved and the target is a person or group receiving questions or information.

Common Mistakes

The army bombarded to the city all night.
The army bombarded the city all night.
do not add 'to' before the place being attacked.

2. to keep sending many questions, comments, or pieces of information to someone so

2.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to keep sending many questions, comments, or pieces of information to someone so fast that they struggle to deal with them.

Example

Reporters bombarded the coach with questions after the final whistle.

bombard + person + with questions

New parents are bombarded with tips about feeding and sleep.

passive: be bombarded with advice or information

Common collocations
  • bombard someone with questions
  • bombard users with ads
  • be bombarded with advice
  • bombard me with messages
Synonyms
  • pepper

    often used for many quick questions fired one after another

  • flood

    focuses more on large quantity than on aggressive pressure

  • deluge

    more formal; very common in passive forms

Grammar Patterns

bombard + person + with questions / advice / messages

be bombarded with + information / criticism / requests

Usage Note

Usually followed by with + plural noun, especially questions, advice, messages, criticism, or information. Distinguish from sense 1: this figurative use describes pressure from words or data rather than from bombs or guns.

Common Mistakes

Reporters bombarded him questions.
Reporters bombarded him with questions.
this sense normally needs 'with' before what is thrown at the person.

bombard — noun

Word family

  • bombardment
    nounC1
  • bombarded
    adjectiveC1
  • bombardier
    nounC2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/2

For verb/2, 'bombard' suggests repeated pressure from questions, messages, criticism, or information coming one after another. 'Pepper' is close when the items are short and rapid, especially questions: reporters can pepper a player with questions after a game. 'Flood' focuses more on quantity than attack, so an inbox can be flooded with complaints. 'Deluge' is more formal and often appears in the passive. 'Overwhelm' describes the effect on the receiver rather than the repeated action itself. You can bombard a teacher with emails, but those emails overwhelm her when she no longer has time to answer them.

bombard ↗pepper ↗flood ↗overwhelm ↗deluge

Common collocations

Phrases

  • be bombarded with

Prepositions

  • bombard with

Etymology

Late LatinOld FrenchMiddle EnglishEnglish

Bombard entered English in the late Middle English period from Old French forms related to 'bombarde', the name of a large cannon. That French word goes back to Late Latin 'bombus', meaning a booming or humming sound. English first used 'bombard' as a noun for the weapon itself, and the verb grew from that noun, first for attacking a place with heavy fire and later for figuratively hitting a person with questions or information.