war

¹ American  

[wawr] / wɔr /

noun

1. a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.

2. a state or period of armed hostility or active military operations.

   The two nations were at war with each other.

3. a contest carried on by force of arms, as in a series of battles or campaigns.

   the War of 1812.

4. armed fighting, as a science, profession, activity, or art; methods or principles of waging armed conflict.

   War is the soldier's business.

5. active hostility or contention; conflict; contest.

   a war of words.

6. aggressive business conflict, as through severe price cutting in the same industry or any other means of undermining competitors.

   a fare war among airlines; a trade war between nations.

7. a struggle to achieve a goal.

   the war on cancer;

   a war against poverty;

   a war for hearts and minds.

8. Cards.

   1. a game for two or more persons, played with a 52-card pack evenly divided between the players, in which each player turns up one card at a time with the higher card taking the lower, and in which, when both turned up cards match, each player lays one card face down and turns up another, the player with the higher card of the second turn taking all the cards laid down.

   2. an occasion in this game when both turned up cards match.

9. Archaic.  a battle.

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verb (used without object)

warred, warring

1. to make or carry on war; fight.

   to war with a neighboring nation.

2. to carry on active hostility or contention.

   Throughout her life she warred with sin and corruption.

3. to be in conflict or in a state of strong opposition.

   The temptation warred with his conscience.

adjective

1. of, belonging to, used in, or due to war.

   war preparations; war hysteria.

war ² American  

[wahr] / wɑr /

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. worse.

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war. ³ American  

abbreviation

1. warrant.

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war ¹ British  

/ wɔː /

noun

1. open armed conflict between two or more parties, nations, or states

2. a particular armed conflict

   the 1973 war in the Middle East

3. the techniques of armed conflict as a study, science, or profession

4. any conflict or contest

   a war of wits

   the war against crime

5. (modifier) of, relating to, resulting from, or characteristic of war

   a war hero

   war damage

   a war story

6. to have made the most of the opportunities presented to one during wartime

7. informal  (esp of a child) hurt or knocked about, esp as a result of quarrelling and fighting

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verb

1. (intr) to conduct a war

War. ² British  

abbreviation

1. Warwickshire

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war Idioms  

More idioms and phrases containing war

• all's fair in love and war
• at war
• been to the wars
• declare war
• tug of war

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Etymology

Origin of war¹

First recorded before 1150; Middle English noun wer(re), war(re), late Old English werre, wyrre, from Old North French wer(r)e, waire, from Old Frankish werra (unrecorded), from Germanic; cognate with Old High German werra, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch werre “strife, discord”; verb derivative of the noun; akin to war ², worse

Origin of war²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English wer(re), war(re), from Old Norse verri worse

Example Sentences

The ICC, which prosecutes individuals for war crimes and crimes against humanity, is suffering arguably the most difficult period in its 23-year history.

From Barron's

When in Germany, the King had spoken about the importance of supporting Ukraine, so there will be interest in whether he might raise the subject again, against a background of talks about ending the war.

From BBC

Lebanese of all religions have emigrated in recent decades because of civil war, economic crises and periodic conflicts with Israel.

From The Wall Street Journal

The attack came a day before US special envoy Steve Witkoff is due to meet President Vladimir Putin in Moscow for talks aimed at ending the war in Ukraine.

From BBC

Any study of wars, poverty and other manmade crises shows us that humanity still suffers from a lack of empathy, not a surfeit.

From Salon

Related Words

• battle
• bloodshed
• combat
• conflict
• fighting
• hostility
• strife
• strike
• struggle
• warfare