blitz en · NOUN
Pronunciation
- /blɪts/
- (Southern-England) audio
Etymology
Pseudo-Germanism, derived from a clipping of blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg (literally “lightning war”). The German word Blitz (“lightning”) lacks the "sudden attack" senses that the English word has.
Meanings
- (countable) A sudden attack, especially an air raid; usually with reference to the Blitz.
-
(countable) A swift and overwhelming attack or effort.
As well as its revamped search bar, Google unveiled a blitz of other innovations that point to the longer-term evolution of the product.
2025 May 24, Stephen Morris, Melissa Heikkilä, Cristina Criddle, “Defending the high ground”, in FT Weekend (Big Read section), London: The Financial Times Ltd., →ISSN, →OCLC, page 7:We embarked on a publicity blitz, putting posters and flyers all around town.
Liberal activists promised a well-funded summertime blitz, replete with home-state rallies and million-dollar ad campaigns, to try to ramp up pressure on a handful of Senate Democrats opposed to changing the rules.
2021 June 22, Nicholas Fandos, “Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill, Dealing Blow to Biden and Democrats”, in The New York Times:Ultimately, though, Liverpool had inflicted a grievous result in the first leg when they scored three times in a 19-minute blitz and, importantly, did not concede an away goal.
2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian:He [Yoshihide Suga] seems to be counting on a media blitz with feel-good effects around the Games to improve his sagging popularity.
2021 March 25, Koichi Nakano, “The Olympics Are On! But Why?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN:
- (countable) A play in which additional defenders beyond the defensive linemen rush the passer.
-
(abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsis, uncountable) Ellipsis of blitz chess.
alt of blitz chess
What I had played was chess. Specially, I knocked out some 2,000 games of speed (or "blitz") chess in the two months leading up to the tournament. In fact, I played so much that I'm currently in the top half-percent of more than 1.3 million of blitz players at an online chess competition site.
2013 June 24, Mark Samuelian, “Speed Chess Changed My Brain”, in The Atlantic:In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid.
2015, Mark Dvoretsky, For Friends and Colleagues, volume 2 (Reflections on My Profession):
- (countable, uncountable) The act of blending or puréeing food using a blender or processor.
- (countable, uncountable) An occurrence in which large numbers of fish, typically striped bass or bluefish, feed on a school of baitfish, typically one in which the occurrence can be seen from the surface.
Forms
| Spelling | Features | Labels | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| blitzes | Number=Plur | lexicographic |
Deriveds
blitzscale · blitz court · blitz torte · blitzbuggy · blitz baby · blitz truck · blitz hearing · Blitz · blitzar · bioblitz · blitzable · blitz chess · zero blitz
Translations (5)
fi salamahyökkäys (swift and overwhelming attack) · es carga (American football play) · es relámpago (swift and overwhelming attack) · de Blitzkrieg (swift and overwhelming attack) · ru внезапное нападение (swift and overwhelming attack)