A guerrilla is someone who fights as part of an unofficial army, usually against an official army or police force.
The guerrillas threatened to kill their hostages.
...a guerrilla war.
Synonyms: freedom fighter, partisan, irregular, underground fighter More Synonyms of guerrilla
guerrilla in British English
or guerilla (ɡəˈrɪlə)
noun
1.
a.
a member of an irregular usually politically motivated armed force that combats stronger regular forces, such as the army or police
b.
(as modifier)
guerrilla warfare
2.
a form of vegetative spread in which the advance is from several individual rhizomes or stolons growing rapidly away from the centre, as in some clovers
Compare phalanx
Derived forms
guerrillaism (guerˈrillaism) or guerillaism (gueˈrillaism)
noun
Word origin
C19: from Spanish, diminutive of guerrawar
guerrilla in American English
(gəˈrɪlə)
noun
1. Archaic
warfare carried on by guerrillas
2.
any member of a small defensive force of irregular soldiers, usually volunteers, making surprise raids, esp. behind the lines of an invading enemy army
adjective
3.
of or by guerrillas
4.
characteristic of guerrillas; undercover, clandestine, etc. or radical, subversive, etc.
Also sp. gueˈrilla
Word origin
Sp, dim. of guerra, war < Fr guerre or It guerra, both < Frank *werra: see war1
Examples of 'guerrilla' in a sentence
guerrilla
Rebels have been warning of a turn to guerrilla warfare.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
We are trained for guerrilla street war.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
And guerrilla wars are notoriously hard to win.
Times, Sunday Times (2013)
After about three months of heavy training we were a disciplined force of guerrilla fighters.
Times, Sunday Times (2011)
They were protected by armed guerrillas and camouflaged beneath tropical leaves.
Times, Sunday Times (2007)
The second part is outright guerrilla warfare.
Times, Sunday Times (2015)
This is the new guerrilla gardening army.
Times, Sunday Times (2008)
It was like urban guerrilla warfare.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
This would have involved a revolutionary guerrilla war in the zones occupied by the Nationalists.
Paul Preston The Spanish Civil War: Reaction, Revolution and Revenge
This is a guerrilla army that has gone quiet, but not gone away.
Times, Sunday Times (2006)
The other is more of a guerrilla strike force technique and THAT'S the one you need to master.
The Sun (2013)
That's all the stuff you need in an open country when you are faced with a guerrilla army.
The Sun (2009)
But these options may not obtain and a colonial general will often have to cope as best he can with a variety of guerrilla warfare.
Mcinnes, Colin & Sheffield G.D (eds.) Warfare in the Twentieth Century (1988)
For many years, my husband and my cleaner have conducted guerrilla warfare against me about our old brick kitchen floor.
Times, Sunday Times (2016)
I sat about writing my notes, compiling as detailed a history of the guerrilla army as possible.
Aidan Hartley THE ZANZIBAR CHEST: A Memoir of Love and War (2003)
Instead, like a guerrilla force, they will have to find ways to catch their powerful opponents off their guard.
Times, Sunday Times (2009)
The arched corridor contained hidden tunnels dug by rebels from the second century AD as they waged guerrilla warfare against the Romans.
Times, Sunday Times (2014)
In other languages
guerrilla
British English: guerrilla NOUN
A guerrilla is someone who fights as part of an unofficial army, usually against an official army or police force.
The guerrillas threatened to kill their hostages.
American English: guerrilla
Brazilian Portuguese: guerrilheiro
Chinese: 游击队员
European Spanish: guerrillero
French: guérillero
German: Guerillakämpfer
Italian: guerrigliero
Japanese: 遊撃隊員
Korean: 게릴라병
European Portuguese: guerrilheiro
Latin American Spanish: guerrillero
All related terms of 'guerrilla'
guerrilla gig
an impromptu musical performance in an unlikely public space, such as on an underground train or on the roof of a building, organized by text-message communication between the band and its fans
guerrilla war
a war between an established army and a guerrilla group
guerrilla group
an organized group of guerrillas
urban guerrilla
a guerrilla who operates in a town or city, engaging in terrorism , kidnapping, etc
guerrilla theater
a form of propaganda or political protest in which a group of activists perform satirical skits , sing songs, engage in playful pranks , etc. in the midst of a public event or activity
guerrilla warfare
warfare involving guerrillas , in which traditional battleground tactics are ineffective
guerrilla financing
the use of unconventional and marginally legal means to capitalize enterprises
guerrilla marketing
Guerilla marketing is trying to sell or publicize a product using unusual and low-cost methods, usually in public places, for example by organizing events or placing objects that get people's attention .
Chinese translation of 'guerrilla'
guerrilla
(ɡəˈrɪlə)
n(c)
游击(擊)队(隊)员(員) (yóujī duìyuán) (名, míng)
cpd
[group, war]游击(擊)队(隊) (yóujīduì)
(noun)
Definition
a member of an irregular, politically motivated, armed force that fights regular forces
The guerrillas issued a list of demands.
Synonyms
freedom fighter
partisan
He was rescued by some Italian partisans.
irregular
underground fighter
member of the underground or resistance
Additional synonyms
in the sense of partisan
Definition
a member of an armed resistance group within occupied territory