air raid

a raid by aircraft, especially for bombing a particular area.

Origin of air raid

First recorded in 1910–15

air-raid, adjective air raider, noun

The shock of the first air-raid sirens giving way to a kind of numbness.

Red Alert in Tel Aviv: Fear Inside the Israeli City’s Bubble |Ethan Perlson |November 20, 2012 |DAILY BEAST
Rick Perry has traded in his dog whistle for an air-raid siren.

Perry: King of the Know-Nothings |Michael Tomasky |August 19, 2011 |DAILY BEAST
Leakes has one of the loudest voices in the Western Hemisphere, something between an operatic soprano and an air-raid siren.

The Housewife Who Keeps It Real |Rebecca Dana |August 10, 2009 |DAILY BEAST
You look about as 'appy as 'Earty does when 'e 'ears there's goin' to be an air-raid.

Adventures of Bindle |Herbert George Jenkins

It is believed that in the excitement caused by an air-raid alarm it was snatched up by a customer who mistook it for his hat.

Punch, or the London Charivari, Vol. 153, July 25, 1917 |Various
Rossiter was working in the Prosectorium at the Zoo when the daylight air-raid began.

Mrs. Warren's Daughter |Sir Harry Johnston
The British air-raid on Dsseldorf also accounted for one or possibly two.

The Illustrated War News, Number 15, Nov. 18, 1914 |Various
Had he given any order to the effect that nobody was to be on the roof of his house during an air-raid?

The Pretty Lady |Arnold E. Bennett

air raid