Boer War

American  

noun

1. a war in which Great Britain fought against the Transvaal and Orange Free State, 1899–1902.

2. a war between Great Britain and the Transvaal, 1880–81.

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Boer War British  

noun

1. Also called: Anglo-Boer War, South African War. either of two conflicts between Britain and the South African Boers, the first (1880–1881) when the Boers sought to regain the independence given up for British aid against the Zulus, the second (1899–1902) when the Orange Free State and Transvaal declared war on Britain

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Boer War Cultural  

1. A war between British and Dutch settlers (Boers) in what is now South Africa, fought from 1899 to 1902 and won by the British. The country was united in 1910.

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Boer War

"The public may be familiar with the Princess Mary Christmas tins of World War One, but this Boer War issue was the precursor," he said.

From BBC ● May 12, 2026

In 1904, at 23, she married David Freeman-Mitford, a Boer War veteran who soon, unexpectedly, became Baron Redesdale after the deaths of his elder brother and father.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 31, 2026

These range from a youthful stint on an Arctic whaler to doctoring in a field hospital during the Boer War to spiritualist lectures in North America, India and Australia.

From Washington Post ● May 5, 2020

A “schemer and a dreamer,” he had returned from the Boer War with one lung, and then from World War I “a 39-year-old wreck.”

From New York Times ● Dec. 3, 2019

He came from the prairies, where he had tamed countless mustangs for the British cavalry’s effort in the Boer War.

From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand