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lawfare

British  
/ ˈlɔːˌfɛə /

noun

  1. the use of the law by a country against its enemies, esp by challenging the legality of military or foreign policy

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of lawfare

C21: from law + warfare

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.

Maybe you’ve read some of this work on Just Security, Lawfare, Lawfire, and elsewhere.

From Slate

“So long as the companies formally consent to the government shares, the government is unlikely to face lawsuits in court,” wrote former Biden White House official Peter Harrell in Lawfare.

From Barron's

“So long as the companies formally consent to the government shares, the government is unlikely to face lawsuits in court,” wrote former Biden White House official Peter Harrell in Lawfare.

From Barron's

Appeared in the October 17, 2025, print edition as 'St. Jack’s Gospel of Lawfare'.

From The Wall Street Journal

Guests: Michael Feinberg, former assistant special agent in charge at the FBI’s field office in Norfolk, VA, now a fellow at Lawfare.

From Slate

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.