fusillade

/ˈfjusɪˌleɪd/

Other forms: fusillades; fusillading; fusilladed

When you watch an action movie, the hero's deadly fusillade often results in at least one of his enemies being shot. The noun fusillade describes a quick round of gunfire.

To correctly pronounce fusillade, say "FEW sill ahd." The word probably reminds you of fuselage, the part of an aircraft where crew members and passengers sit. But the words only sound alike. Fuselage gets its name from its cylinder shape, while fusillade comes from the French word fusil, meaning "musket." Fusillade also can be used in a figurative sense to describe a rapid series of anything, such as a fusillade of punches or a fusillade of questions.

Definitions of fusillade

1. noun

   rapid simultaneous discharge of firearms, also used figuratively
   “our fusillade from the left flank caught them by surprise”

   synonyms: burst, salvo, volley

   type of:

   fire, firing

   the act of firing weapons or artillery at an enemy
2. verb

   attack with fusillade
   type of:

   discharge, fire

   cause to go off