Pearl Harbor
UK /ˌpɜːl ˈhɑːbə/ · US /ˌpɝ˞l ˈhɑɹbɚ/ proper noun, noun, verb
Forms Pearl Harbors Pearl Harboring Pearl Harbored Pearl Harbour
- proper noun A deep water harbor in Oahu, Hawaii, United States in the Pacific.
- proper noun (military) A naval base in Pearl Harbor, Oahu, Hawaii, United States: a US Navy base
- proper noun (historical, metonymic) The attack on Pearl Harbor. “Pearl Harbor happened in 1941 and was the direct cause of the United States' entry into World War II.”
- noun A sneak attack, often using underhanded measures.
- noun A seminal dramatic event that unites a community and arouses it into action against an enemy.
- verb (often passive voice, slang) To attack by surprise; to subject to a sneak attack.
- verb (often passive, slang, rare) To take rudely by surprise.
Etymology
Calque of Hawaiian Wai Momi (“pearl water”). The extended senses allude to the surprise attack executed by the Imperial Japanese Navy on the harbor on December 7, 1941.
Sources: Wiktionary — from the Wiktionary entry “Pearl Harbor”, CC BY-SA 4.0. Details