Ambush
collective noun /ˈæmbʊʃ/ — What you call a group of tigers — because a group of tigers is always an ambush.
Definition
The collective noun for a group of tigers. Tigers are solitary hunters, but when several occupy the same territory or gather, ambush captures their essential nature: they are built to appear from nowhere.
Beyond the definition
Tigers are the largest of the wild cats — and the most invisible for their size. Their stripes break up their outline so completely that they can stand metres away without being seen. A group of tigers isn't a pack. It's an ambush waiting to happen.
Origin & history
From Old French embusche — to hide in a bush (en 'in' + busche 'bush/wood'). The collective noun reflects the tiger's fundamental hunting strategy: concealment, patience, sudden movement.
Example sentences
Illustrative sentences for learning, not verified community posts or sourced quotations.
An ambush of tigers had been photographed on the same trail camera within 48 hours.
The tracker identified the ambush by the kill sites — three in a two-kilometre radius.
An ambush of Bengal tigers represents perhaps the most concentrated apex predator biomass on earth.
Synonyms
group, streak, band
Related words
Word in the Wild
See how this word appears in life, language and stories.
Illustrative sentences and imagined stories for learning — not verified sightings, interviews, or sourced quotations.
Word in focus
An ambush of tigers
An ambush of tigers moved along the woodland trail, the cubs following their mother.
Ambush is a collective name for tigers. This photograph shows a tigress with cubs, not a coordinated hunt; tigers are generally solitary outside family groups.
Image credit: Yajuvendraupadhyaya · CC BY 4.0 (license)
Resized and converted to WebP; full composition retained.