ack-ack
ack-ack · ack-acks
Antiaircraft artilleryAntiaircraft artillery.
Meaning
2 senses(countable, slang, uncountable)Antiaircraft artillery.
The army fired upon us with ack-ack.
Ack-acks were set up in the square.
artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes
(slang, uncountable)Antiaircraft fire.
The bomber flew through heavy ack-ack.
Origin
From ack (“A”) + ack (“A”), RAF WWI signalese for AA (“anti-aircraft”). (In modern signaleFrom ack (“A”) + ack (“A”), RAF WWI signalese for AA (“anti-aircraft”). (In modern signalese it would be called alpha-alpha.)
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Forms
plural: ack-acksSynonyms
8 synonymsanti-aircraft gun:AAAAA
Close in meaning
- artillery designed to shoot upward at airplanes:antiaircraftantiaircraft gunflakflackpom-pomack-ack gun
Lessons for this word
1 lessons- A1Countable and uncountable nouns — Because it can be uncountable