limited war

American  

noun

1. a war conducted with less than a nation's total resources and restricted in aim to less than total defeat of the enemy.

2. a war restricted to a relatively small area of the world and involving few warring nations.

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limited war British  

noun

1. a war in which the belligerents do not seek the total destruction of the enemy, esp one in which nuclear weapons are deliberately not used

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Etymology

Origin of limited war

First recorded in 1935–40

Example Sentences

Since then, the United States returned to fight Iraq to overthrow Saddam Hussein; in Afghanistan, clear, limited war aims were never stated.

From Washington Post • Feb. 23, 2023

In 1999, the two countries fought a limited war in Kargil.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 12, 2022

After becoming interested in theories of deterrence and limited war, he decided that nuclear strategy lent itself to his evolving ideas about bargaining and game theory.

From New York Times • Dec. 13, 2016

But it has been a greatly limited war of airstrikes under strict rules of engagement and a gradual buildup of 3,500 troops restricted to training and advising.

From Washington Times • Dec. 7, 2015

We are left, in fact, with an impression that there must be two kinds of limited war.

From Some Principles of Maritime Strategy by Corbett, Julian S. (Julian Stafford)