blitzkrieg
nounEtymology Unadapted borrowing from German Blitzkrieg (literally “lightning war”).
1
A fast military offensive, typically involving a large and highly mobile tank force with air support.
- I rode a tank, held a general's rank / When the Blitzkrieg raged and the bodies stank1968, Keith Richards, Mick Jagger, “Sympathy for the Devil”, in Beggars Banquet, performed by Rolling Stones:
- But news that the North Vietnamese had launched an invasion more akin to the blitzkrieg of Poland than to a Maoist "people's war," and had overrun my old base camp 30 miles up Thunder Road from Saigon, turned my heart to lead.2000 April 26, Walter A. McDougall, “Who Were We in Vietnam?”, in The New York Times, archived from the original on 27 May 2015, retrieved 03 Aug 2008:
2
Figuratively Sudden activity; a flurry.
- President-elect Donald Trump has promised a blitzkrieg of executive actions and legislation after he takes office Jan. 20.2025 January 2, Simon Montlake, “Electing a speaker is first test for GOP with razor-thin control of House”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 27 Mar 2025:
- Many Democrats have felt hopeless during a blitzkrieg of a presidency that is testing the limits of constitutional authority, including over the deportations of migrants, halting of congressionally approved spending, and punishment of universities accused of not protecting the rights of Jews during intense spells of pro-Palestinian activism.2025 April 7, Simon Montlake, Caitlin Babcock, Ali Martin, Cameron Pugh, Jingnan Peng, “Is the anti-Trump ‘resistance’ starting to find its voice again?”, in The Christian Science Monitor, archived from the original on 27 Apr 2025:
- Derived terms
- blitz, clickskrieg, glitzkrieg
- Related terms
- sitzkrieg