fusillade

[ fyoo-suh-leyd, -lahd, -zuh- ]
See synonyms for fusillade on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a simultaneous or continuous discharge of firearms.

  2. a general discharge or outpouring of anything: a fusillade of questions.

verb (used with object),fu·sil·lad·ed, fu·sil·lad·ing.
  1. to attack or shoot by a fusillade.

Origin of fusillade

1
First recorded in 1795–1805; from French, equivalent to fusill(er) “to shoot” (see fusil1) + -ade-ade1

Words Nearby fusillade

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use fusillade in a sentence

  • Just ahead the rioters had turned to pour a fusillade of fifty shots into a house from which a revolver shot had been fired.

  • They saluted the dawn with a noisy fusillade that ran along the miles of winding line.

British Dictionary definitions for fusillade

fusillade

/ (ˌfjuːzɪˈleɪd, -ˈlɑːd) /


noun
  1. a simultaneous or rapid continual discharge of firearms

  2. a sudden outburst, as of criticism

verb
  1. (tr) to attack with a fusillade

Origin of fusillade

1
C19: from French, from fusiller to shoot; see fusil 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012