law of war
Americannoun
Etymology
Origin of law of war
First recorded in 1945–50
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The Pentagon’s own law of war manual prohibits “hostilities on the basis that there shall be no survivors.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 1, 2025
Today, under the law of war, civilians are supposed to have protections, including against citizenship- or identity-based detentions or internment, as well as against forced repatriation.
From Slate • Mar. 20, 2025
“The law of war is cold,” said Emanuela-Chiara Gillard, an associate fellow at Chatham House, the London think thank, who previously worked as a lawyer for the Red Cross and the United Nations.
From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2023
“In accordance with the law of war, we’ve got to do what’s necessary to protect those civilians.”
From Los Angeles Times • Oct. 31, 2023
And the law of war does not extend to the furniture and pictures in the drawing-rooms?'
From The Woman of Mystery by Leblanc, Maurice
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
