blitz

See also: Blitz

English

Etymology

Clipping of blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg (literally “lightning war”).

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /blɪts/

• Audio (Southern England):

  (file)

• Rhymes: -ɪts

Noun

blitz (countable and uncountable, plural blitzes)

1. (countable) A sudden attack, especially an air raid; usually with reference to the Blitz.
2. (countable) A swift and overwhelming attack or effort.

   We embarked on a publicity blitz, putting posters and flyers all around town.

   • 2018 April 10, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian‎^[1]:

     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.

   • 2021 March 25, Koichi Nakano, “The Olympics Are On! But Why?”, in The New York Times‎^[2], →ISSN:

     He [Yoshihide Suga] seems to be counting on a media blitz with feel-good effects around the Games to improve his sagging popularity.

   • 2021 June 22, Nicholas Fandos, “Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill, Dealing Blow to Biden and Democrats”, in The New York Times‎^[3]:

     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.

3. (countable, American football) A play in which additional defenders beyond the defensive linemen rush the passer.
4. (uncountable, chess) Short for blitz chess.
   • 2013 June 24, Mark Samuelian, “Speed Chess Changed My Brain”, in The Atlantic‎^[4]:

     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.

   • 2015, Mark Dvoretsky, For Friends and Colleagues, volume 2 (Reflections on My Profession):

     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.

5. (cooking) The act of blending or puréeing food using a blender or processor.
6. (fishing) 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.

Derived terms

• bioblitz
• Blitz
• blitzable
• blitzar
• blitzbuggy
• blitz chess
• blitzscale
• blitz torte
• blitz truck
• zero blitz

 

Translations

swift and overwhelming attack

• Finnish: salamahyökkäys
• German: Blitzkrieg (de)
• Kyrgyz: чагылгандай согуш күтүүсүз кол салуу
• Russian: внезапное нападение n
• Spanish: relámpago (es) m

American football play

• Spanish: carga (es) f

Verb

blitz (third-person singular simple present blitzes, present participle blitzing, simple past and past participle blitzed)

1. (transitive) To attack quickly or suddenly, as by an air raid or similar action.

   Synonym: charge

2. (intransitive, American football) To perform a blitz.

   The Washington High defense almost always blitzes on third down.

3. (transitive, cooking) To purée or chop (food products) using a food processor or blender.

   Synonym: zhoosh

   To make nut roast, you have to blitz the nuts in the food processor before adding the parsley and breadcrumbs.

4. (transitive, informal) To do something quickly or in one session.

   Synonyms: hurry, zoom; see also Thesaurus:rush

Derived terms

• blitz out

Anagrams

• Biltz

Danish

Etymology

German Blitz

Noun

blitz

1. (photography) flash, camera flash

Declension

Declension of blitz

common gender	Singular
	indefinite	definite
nominative	blitz	blitzen
genitive	blitz'	blitzens

Italian

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English blitz, shortened from English blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /ˈblit͡s/^*
• Rhymes: -its

Noun

blitz m (invariable)

1. blitz

Portuguese

Etymology

Unadapted borrowing from English blitz, shortened from English blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg.

Pronunciation

• (Brazil) IPA^(key): /ˈblits/

Noun

blitz f (invariable)

1. random checkpoint (a hastily set-up point along a road where the police stop random drivers)

Spanish

Noun

blitz m (plural blitz)

1. blitz