Spanish-American War

American  

noun

1. the war between the U.S. and Spain in 1898.

---

Spanish-American War British  

noun

1. the war between the US and Spain (1898) resulting in Spain's withdrawal from Cuba and its cession of Guam, the Philippines, and Puerto Rico

---

Spanish-American War Cultural  

1. A war between Spain and the United States, fought in 1898. The war began as an intervention by the United States on behalf of Cuba. Accounts of Spanish mistreatment of Cuban natives had aroused much resentment in the United States, a resentment encouraged by the yellow press (see yellow journalism). The incident that led most directly to the war was the explosion of the United States battleship Maine in the harbor of Havana, Cuba, an incident for which many Americans blamed Spain (see Remember the Maine). The United States won the war easily. The best-remembered incidents in the Spanish-American War were the charge of the Rough Riders, led by Theodore Roosevelt, in the Battle of San Juan Hill in Cuba, and the Battle of Manila Bay in the Philippines, at which Admiral George Dewey said, “You may fire when you are ready, Gridley.” The United States acquired Puerto Rico, Guam, and the Philippines in the war and gained temporary control over Cuba.

---

Discover More

The victory of the United States in the Spanish-American War made the country a world power, with territories spread across the Pacific Ocean and Caribbean Sea. Hawaii, which had been an independent kingdom, was annexed by the United States in the same period.

Example Sentences

Roosevelt employed Mahan’s theories as assistant secretary of the Navy during the Spanish-American War in 1898, when the U.S. seized Cuba, Puerto Rico, the Philippines, and more.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

In a strange circumstance, Cuba even achieved its independence as a result of the American victory in the Spanish-American War.

From Salon • Mar. 24, 2026

Roosevelt served for a year as an occasionally insubordinate assistant secretary of the Navy, then resigned at the start of the Spanish-American War to co-found the First U.S.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 29, 2025

After the Spanish-American War, the United States colonized the Philippines until 1946, opening up migration to the country until quotas limited the number of Filipinos allowed to immigrate.

From Los Angeles Times • May 15, 2024

The commission had been set up in Cuba following the Spanish-American War to discover the cause of yellow fever and develop a cure.

From "An American Plague: The True and Terrifying Story of the Yellow Fever Epidemic of 1793" by Jim Murphy