carpet-bomb
carpet-bomb — noun
1. A bomb released as one of many in an attack that covers an entire area, designed
A bomb released as one of many in an attack that covers an entire area, designed to leave nothing undamaged.
The museum displayed a rusted carpet-bomb found in a field near Dresden.
collocation: rusted carpet-bomb
Historians estimate that over a thousand carpet-bombs fell on the city that night.
Hannes found a carpet-bomb casing in the rubble of his uncle's shop.
Clara's grandfather still carried shrapnel from a carpet-bomb that hit his village.
The unexploded carpet-bomb lay buried under the school playground for sixty years.
用法筆記
The noun form is rare; almost all uses of 'carpet-bomb' are as a verb. When you encounter this word, it nearly always describes the action (verb/1 or verb/2), not one of the bombs dropped.
carpet-bomb — verb
- carpet-bombpresent simple I / you / we / they
- carpet-bombshe / she / it
- carpet-bombedpast simple
- carpet-bombing-ing form
1. To attack an entire area by dropping many bombs across it, so that every part is
To attack an entire area by dropping many bombs across it, so that every part is hit and nothing survives.
Allied planes carpet-bombed the industrial district for three nights without stopping.
transitive: carpet-bomb + [area]
The general ordered his squadron to carpet-bomb the supply routes before dawn.
Entire neighbourhoods were carpet-bombed during the final weeks of the war.
Diego read a memoir about a pilot who had to carpet-bomb civilian areas.
Military historians still debate the decision to carpet-bomb Dresden in 1945.
- bomb
general term for dropping explosives; carries no implication of covering an entire area
- bombard
to attack continuously with bombs or other projectiles; can also be used figuratively
- shell
to attack with artillery shells from the ground or sea, not from aircraft
- strafe
to attack with machine-gun fire from low-flying aircraft, targeting people or vehicles rather than destroying whole areas
文法句型
carpet-bomb + area/place
用法筆記
Distinguish from verb/2: this is the literal military sense involving actual bombs. The object is always a place or area, never a person.
常見錯誤
2. To direct a huge volume of messages, adverts, or information at someone, typical
To direct a huge volume of messages, adverts, or information at someone, typically to push them into buying something or agreeing to something.
The company carpet-bombed subscribers with twelve promotional emails in one week.
pattern: carpet-bomb + [person] + with + [content]
During the campaign, voters were carpet-bombed with attack ads on social media.
passive: be carpet-bombed with [content]
Ruth complained that the charity carpet-bombed her with requests for more money.
The streaming service carpet-bombed Amir with recommendations after he watched one film.
Political groups carpet-bombed every household in the district with contradictory leaflets.
- bombard
same figurative pattern: 'bombard someone with questions/emails'; slightly less intense than carpet-bomb
- inundate
to overwhelm with a large volume; more formal, used in writing and formal speech
- spam
informal; specifically for unwanted digital messages; narrower scope than carpet-bomb
- flood
to send a large volume; less aggressive in tone; 'flood someone's inbox'
文法句型
carpet-bomb + person + with + information/ads
用法筆記
Frequently used in the pattern 'carpet-bomb someone with something'. The subject is typically a company, organization, or political campaign, not an individual person. Common in marketing and political contexts.