peacetime

American  

[pees-tahym] / ˈpisˌtaɪm /

noun

1. a time or period of peace.

   a large navy even in peacetime.

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adjective

1. of or for such a period.

   peacetime uses of atomic energy.

peacetime British  

/ ˈpiːsˌtaɪm /

noun

1. 1. a period without war; time of peace

   2. ( as modifier )

      a peacetime agreement

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Etymology

Origin of peacetime

First recorded in 1545–55; peace + time

Explanation

If a country isn't involved in any wars for a certain length of time, that period is called peacetime. During peacetime, a government may cut back on their military budget and focus on education for a change. After the battles of World War II that raged across Europe, the period that followed was considered an era of peacetime for both Western Europe and the United States. The country that's enjoying the longest current stretch of peacetime is Sweden, which hasn't been involved in a war for over two hundred years. Peacetime in Japan during the Edo period started in 1603 and lasted 250 years.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

peacetime

Norway has opened a new memorial for the 77 victims of the country's deadliest terror attack in peacetime, days before its 15th anniversary.

From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026

Dana Andrews is a decorated bombardier who returns to the same soda fountain job he held before the war, discovering that military heroism doesn’t necessarily translate into peacetime opportunity.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 29, 2026

The Strait of Hormuz in peacetime was the conduit of about 20 million barrels a day of crude and crude products, or about a fifth of the world’s supply of the commodities.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 22, 2026

Iran closed the strait, through which much of the world's oil and gas travels in peacetime, early in the war, sending economic shockwaves across the globe.

From Barron's ● Jun. 22, 2026

Having been immersed in the development of the atom’s destructive potential, they were hoping to shift as a team into work on the generation of electricity and other such peacetime aspects of the embryonic science.

From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik