Punic Wars

American  

plural noun

1. the three wars waged by Rome against Carthage, 264–241, 218–201, and 149–146 b.c., resulting in the destruction of Carthage and the annexation of its territory by Rome.

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Punic Wars British  

plural noun

1. three wars (264–241 _bc , 218–201 _bc , and 149–146 _bc ), in which Rome crushed Carthaginian power, destroying Carthage itself

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Punic Wars Cultural  

1. Three wars between ancient Carthage and Rome in the third and second centuries b.c. Hannibal led the forces of Carthage in the second Punic War. Carthage was destroyed after the third Punic War.

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Example Sentences

It is thought he took soldiers and animals from Carthage through Spain and France to invade Italy, crossing the Alps with 37 elephants in 218 BCE during the second of the so-called Punic Wars.

From BBC • Feb. 16, 2026

Later Roman writers dressed up the Punic Wars as an ancestral vendetta of the Barcids, the family to which Hannibal belonged.

From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 11, 2026

“Do you want to read?” one of the third graders, Parker, asked his partner after the lesson on the Punic Wars.

From Seattle Times • Jun. 9, 2023

Carthage fought three Punic Wars against Rome — the second involving Hannibal and his famous march with elephants across the Alps — but eventually succumbed to a siege by the Romans in 146 B.C.

From New York Times • Oct. 23, 2015

You want to walk me straight into those botheration Punic Wars; it’s no go, though; I shan’t break cover in that direction.’

From Tales from "Blackwood," Volume 2 by Various