Meanings
bombard1
plural bombards
- A medieval primitive cannon, used chiefly in sieges for throwing heavy stone balls.
They 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.
1603, Richard Knolles, The Generall Historie of the Turkes, […], London: […] Adam Islip, →OCLC - obsoleteA bassoon-like medieval musical instrument.
- obsoleteA large liquor container made of leather, in the form of a jug or a bottle.
[…] yond same black cloud, yond huge one, / looks like a foul bombard that would shed his liquor.
1610–1611 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Tempest”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward] Blount, published 1623, →OCLC, [Act II, scene ii] - poeticrareA bombardment.
With mines and parallels contracts the space; Then bids the battering floats his labors crown And pour their bombard on the shuddering town
1807, Joel Barlow, The Columbiad - entertainmentA bombardon.
bombard2
present singular third person bombards · participle present bombarding · participle past bombarded · past bombarded
- figurativelyTo attack something or someone by directing objects at them.
My correspondent, who was riding in the first coach, comments that the small standard tender did not take kindly to this gay progress, and signified its disapproval from time to time by bombarding the train with lumps of coal!
1954 July, Cecil J. Allen, “British Locomotive Practice and Performance”, in Railway Magazine, page 488 - figurativelyTo continuously send or direct (at someone)
I was bombarded with WhatsApp messages after appearing on the news.
3 more examples
Please don't bombard me with questions right now, I'll answer them at the end of the statement.
At this point she remembered, sitting there, surrounded by heavy breathing, the constellations flashing, cosmic rays bombarding marvelsome complex coils on the lecturer's dials, that she had forgotten to turn out the gas under the beets.
1945, Morton Thompson, Joe, the Wounded Tennis Player, page 88We're so bombarded with images, it's a struggle to preserve our imaginations.' In response, he's turned to cinema, commissioning 11 film-makers to contribute to a portmanteau film, entitled '11'09"01' and composed of short films each running 11 minutes, nine seconds and one frame.
2002 December 11, Nick Bradshaw, “One day in September”, in Time Out, page 71
Bombard3
Synonyms & antonyms
verbaddress with continuously or persistently, as if with a barrage
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
bombard · noun
- Latinbombus“buzzing; booming”
- Middle Frenchbombarde“a bombard, mortar, catapult"; also "a bassoon-like musical instrument”
- Middle Englishbombard
- Englishbombard
From Middle English bombard, from Middle French bombarde (“a bombard, mortar, catapult"; also "a bassoon-like musical instrument”), from Latin bombus (“buzzing; booming”). The modern pronunciation is from modern French bombarde.
More words from Middle English, Middle French, Latin
Full word history & related roots →bombard · verb
- Middle Frenchbombarde“a bombard”
- Frenchbombarder
- Englishbombard
From French bombarder, from Middle French bombarde (“a bombard”).
More words from French, Middle French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Bulgarian бомба́рда, бомбарди́рам
- бомба́рда (bombárda)medieval primitive cannon
- бомбарди́рам (bombardíram)to direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Catalan bombarda
- bombardamedieval primitive cannon
Czech bombarda, bombardovat
- bombardamedieval primitive cannon
- bombardovatto direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Dutch bombarde, kartouwe
- bombardemedieval primitive cannon
- kartouwemedieval primitive cannon
- geschutmedieval primitive cannon
- bekogelento attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- bombarderento direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Finnish pommittaa
- pommittaato attack something or someone by directing objects at them
French bombarde, bombarder
- bombardemedieval primitive cannon
- bombarderto attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- bombarderto direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
German Bombarde, Donnerbüchse
- Bombardemedieval primitive cannon
- Donnerbüchsemedieval primitive cannon
- Steinbüchsemedieval primitive cannon
- Kartaunemedieval primitive cannon
- bombardierento attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- bombardierento direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Greek βομβάρδα, βομβαρδίζω
- βομβάρδα (vomvárda)medieval primitive cannon
- βομβαρδίζω (vomvardízo)to attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- βομβαρδίζω (vomvardízo)to direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Japanese 浴びせる, 照射する
- 浴びせる (abiseru)to attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- 照射する (shōsha suru)to direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Latin bombarda
- bombardamedieval primitive cannon
Polish bombardować, zbombardować
- bombardowaćto attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- zbombardowaćto attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- bombardowaćto direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
- zbombardowaćto direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Portuguese bombarda, bombardear
- bombardamedieval primitive cannon
- bombardearto attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- bombardearto direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Russian бомба́рда, бомбарди́ровать
- бомба́рда (bombárda)medieval primitive cannon
- бомбарди́ровать (bombardírovatʹ)to attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- бомбарди́ровать (bombardírovatʹ)to direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Spanish bombarda, bombardear
- bombardamedieval primitive cannon
- bombardearto attack something or someone by directing objects at them
- bombardearto direct at a substance an intense stream of high-energy particles, usually sub-atomic or made of at most a few atoms
Cite this entry
bombard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bombard
“bombard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bombard. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “bombard,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/bombard.
Source: bombard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.