Definition: "Artillery fire" refers to the powerfulshootingorfiring of largegunsorcannonsused in warfare. These gunsarecalledartillery, and they aredesigned to hittargets that arefaraway.
UsageInstructions:
"Artillery fire" is a noun phrase and is usedprimarily in military contexts.
It is typicallyused todescribe the action of firingor the sound and effect of the firing.
Example:
"The soldiers took coverduring the artillery fire, which shook the ground and echoedthrough the valley."
AdvancedUsage:
In militarystrategy discussions, you mighthearphraseslike "suppressiveartillery fire," which meansfiring to prevent the enemy from shootingbackeffectively.
"Indirectartillery fire" refers to firingat a target that cannot be seen directly, oftenusingmapsor coordinates.
Word Variants:
Artillery (noun): The largegunsthemselvesor the branch of the military that operates them.
Artillerist (noun): A personwhooperatesartillery weapons.
DifferentMeaning:
In a non-militarycontext, "fire" can refer to the act of burningor flames, butin thisphrase, itspecificallyrefers to the firing of weapons.
Synonyms:
Cannon fire
Gunfire (thoughthis is generallyused for smaller weapons)
Bombardment (a moreintenseorcontinuousfiring)
Idioms and Phrasal Verbs:
Thereare no specificidiomsorphrasalverbs that directlyrelate to "artillery fire," but you mighthearphraseslike"bring the big guns," which means to usepowerfulresourcesorpeople to deal with a problem.