blitz

Etymology

Shortened from blitzkrieg, from German Blitzkrieg.

noun

1. (countable) A sudden attack, especially an air raid; usually with reference to the Blitz.
2. (countable) A swift and overwhelming attack or effort.
   We embarked on a publicity blitz, putting posters and flyers all around town.
   Ultimately, though, Liverpool had inflicted a grievous result in the first leg when they scored three times in a 19-minute blitz and, importantly, did not concede an away goal. 10 April 2018, Daniel Taylor, “Liverpool go through after Mohamed Salah stops Manchester City fightback”, in The Guardian
   He [Yoshihide Suga] seems to be counting on a media blitz with feel-good effects around the Games to improve his sagging popularity. 2021-03-25, Koichi Nakano, “The Olympics Are On! But Why?”, in The New York Times, →ISSN
   Liberal activists promised a well-funded summertime blitz, replete with home-state rallies and million-dollar ad campaigns, to try to ramp up pressure on a handful of Senate Democrats opposed to changing the rules. 2021-06-22, Nicholas Fandos, “Republicans Block Voting Rights Bill, Dealing Blow to Biden and Democrats”, in The New York Times
3. (countable, American football) A play in which additional defenders beyond the defensive linemen rush the passer.
4. (uncountable, chess) Short for blitz chess.
   What I had played was chess. Specially, I knocked out some 2,000 games of speed (or "blitz") chess in the two months leading up to the tournament. In fact, I played so much that I'm currently in the top half-percent of more than 1.3 million of blitz players at an online chess competition site. 2013-06-24, Mark Samuelian, “Speed Chess Changed My Brain”, in The Atlantic
   In order to avoid misunderstanding, I must note that I object to the attempts to displace normal chess with fast play, not rapid or blitz in general. I love them both, and, if I were to choose which to play, classic or rapid, I would choose rapid. 2015, Mark Dvoretsky, For Friends and Colleagues, volume 2 (Reflections on My Profession)
5. (cooking) The act of blending or puréeing food using a blender or processor.

verb

1. (transitive) To attack quickly or suddenly, as by an air raid or similar action.
2. (intransitive, American football) To perform a blitz.
   The Washington High defense almost always blitzes on third down.
3. (transitive, cooking) To purée or chop (food products) using a food processor or blender.
   To make nut roast, you have to blitz the nuts in the food processor before adding the parsley and breadcrumbs.
4. (transitive, informal) To do something quickly or in one session.