warpath
[ wawr-path, -pahth ]
/ ˈwɔrˌpæθ, -ˌpɑθ /
noun, plural war·paths [wawr-path z, -pahth z, -paths, -pahths] /ˈwɔrˌpæðz, -ˌpɑðz, -ˌpæθs, -ˌpɑθs/.
the path or course taken by American Indians on a warlike expedition.
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Nearby words
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Idioms
- seeking, preparing for, or engaged in war or aggressive pursuit.
- in a state of anger or indignation; hostile.
on the warpath,
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019
British Dictionary definitions for on the warpath
warpath
/ (ˈwɔːˌpɑːθ) /
noun
the route taken by North American Indians on a warlike expedition
on the warpath
- preparing to engage in battle
- informal in a state of anger
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
Word Origin and History for on the warpath
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Culture definitions for on the warpath
on the warpath
From a Native American expression for war, to be “on the warpath” is to be exceedingly angry and to be inclined to take some hostile action: “Watch out! John is on the warpath today.”
The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition
Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.
Idioms and Phrases with on the warpath (1 of 2)
on the warpath
Furious and on a hostile course of action, as in When the meat wasn't delivered, the chef went on the warpath. This expression was an English translation of a Native American term that literally means “a path used by a war party.” Go on the war path thus meant “go to battle.” It was used in this way by James Fenimore Cooper in The Deerslayer (1841); its present hyperbolic use dates from the late 1800s.
Idioms and Phrases with on the warpath (2 of 2)
warpath
see on the warpath.
The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.