bushwhack

[boo sh-hwak, -wak] /ˈbʊʃˌʰwæk, -ˌwæk/
verb (used without object)
1.
to make one's way through woods by cutting at undergrowth, branches, etc.
2.
to travel through woods.
3.
to pull a boat upstream from on board by grasping bushes, rocks, etc., on the shore.
4.
to fight as a bushwhacker or guerrilla in the bush.
verb (used with object)
5.
to fight as a bushwhacker; ambush.
6.
to defeat, especially by surprise or in an underhanded way:
They bushwhacked our high school team when they used college players.
Origin
1830-40, Americanism; back formation from bushwhacker
Examples from the web for bushwhack
  • Soon we'll stop to bushwhack our way deeper into the forest to hunt for duiker, a type of small antelope.
  • He takes her for a spin in his seaplane, cheekily abandoning her on the other side of the lake to bushwhack home on her own.
  • To view this end of the gorge, one needs to bushwhack a short distance off the road.
  • Hikers are welcome to use any of the roadways open to the public or to bushwhack the lands open to the public.
  • Vegetation on this ridge regrows rapidly so hikers may have to bushwhack.
British Dictionary definitions for bushwhack

bushwhack

/ˈbʊʃˌwæk/
verb
1.
(transitive) (US & Canadian, Austral) to ambush
2.
(intransitive) (US & Canadian, Austral) to cut or beat one's way through thick woods
3.
(intransitive) (US & Canadian, Austral) to range or move around in woods or the bush
4.
(intransitive) (US & Canadian) to fight as a guerrilla in wild or uncivilized regions
5.
(intransitive) (NZ) to work in the bush, esp at timber felling
Slang definitions & phrases for bushwhack

bushwhack

verb
  1. To assault, esp from ambush: Two guys jumped out and bushwhacked him
  2. To attack violently: After that speech the President felt bushwhacked

[1860s+; fr the action of cutting the bush in order to get through the forest or along an overgrown stream]