war

¹

[wawr]

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.

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

[wahr]

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. worse.

war.

³

abbreviation

1. warrant.

war

¹

/ 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

verb

1. (intr) to conduct a war

War.

²

abbreviation

1. Warwickshire

Word History and Origins

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of war¹

C12: from Old Northern French werre (variant of Old French guerre ), of Germanic origin; related to Old High German werra

Idioms and Phrases

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

Example Sentences

He was still to blame for the war, and once the victors decided to put him in the dock for that his fate was clear.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Israel called up over 300,000 reservists after the 2023 attack, which left about 1,200 people dead and triggered the war in Gaza.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

“They shouldn’t be the rope in this tug of war game that’s going on,” said Nick Daniels, president of the National Air Traffic Controllers Association.

Read more on Salon

A network of community kitchens in Sudan - a crucial lifeline for millions of people caught up in the civil war - is on the verge of collapse, a report says.

Read more on BBC

The RSF's statement said it had agreed to enter the truce proposed by the four countries "in order to address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of the war" and to allow the "urgent delivery" of aid.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

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