divebomb

divebomb — verb

  • divebombpresent simple I / you / we / they
  • divebombs3rd person singular
  • divebombing-ing form
  • divebombedpast simple

1. to fly an aircraft downward at a steep angle and drop bombs on a target below

1.verbtransitiveB2
Definition

to fly an aircraft downward at a steep angle and drop bombs on a target below

Example

Lukas watched archive footage of Stukas as they divebombed the harbour.

typical object: harbour, bridge, airfield — military or strategic targets

The pilots divebombed the bridge while anti-aircraft guns fired from below.

Common collocations
  • divebomb a convoy
  • divebomb a ship
  • divebomb an airfield
  • divebomb a bridge
Synonyms
  • bomb

    more general; does not specify the diving approach used in divebombing

  • strafe

    to attack from the air with machine-gun fire rather than bombs, flying low and level

Grammar Patterns

divebomb + [target]

Usage Note

Subject is almost always an aircraft or its pilot. Used mainly in descriptions of military history, especially World War II.

Word family

  • dive-bomber
    nounB2
  • dive-bombing
    nounB2

Synonym discussion

Sense: verb/1

Divebomb describes a specific aerial attack: the pilot flies the aircraft steeply downward and releases bombs before pulling up, which greatly improves accuracy. Bomb is the general term for dropping explosives from any aircraft at any angle — a high-altitude bomber does not divebomb. Strafe means attacking from the air with forward-facing guns (not bombs), usually flying low and level to hit soldiers or vehicles. Shell refers to firing explosive rounds from artillery on the ground or from naval guns — no aircraft is involved. A pilot might strafe a column of trucks and then divebomb the bridge ahead, while artillery shells the far side of the river.

bomb ↗strafe ↗shell ↗

Etymology

English

Formed in English from dive and bomb, first appearing in military reports during the late 1930s. The tactic became famous during World War II, especially with German Stuka and Japanese Aichi dive bombers. The verb originally described the action of these specialised aircraft and later broadened to any steep-diving attack from the air.

First known use

1935

1935, in the meaning defined above