[ boo sh-hwak, -wak ]
/ ˈbʊʃˌʰwæk, -ˌwæk /

verb (used without object)

to make one's way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.
to travel through woods.
to pull a boat upstream from on board by grasping bushes, rocks, etc., on the shore.
to fight as a bushwhacker or guerrilla in the bush.

verb (used with object)

to fight as a bushwhacker; ambush.
to defeat, especially by surprise or in an underhanded way: They bushwhacked our high school team when they used college players.

Origin of bushwhack

1830–40, Americanism; back formation from bushwhacker

Examples from the Web for bushwhack

British Dictionary definitions for bushwhack

/ (ˈbʊʃˌwæk) /


(tr) US, Canadian and Australian to ambush
(intr) US, Canadian and Australian to cut or beat one's way through thick woods
(intr) US, Canadian and Australian to range or move around in woods or the bush
(intr) US and Canadian to fight as a guerrilla in wild or uncivilized regions
(intr) NZ to work in the bush, esp at timber felling