price war

American  

noun

1. intensive competition, especially among retailers, in which prices are repeatedly cut in order to undersell competitors or sometimes to force smaller competitors out of business.

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price war British  

noun

1. a period of intense competition among enterprises, esp retail enterprises, in the same market, characterized by repeated price reductions rather than advertising, brand promotion, etc

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Etymology

Origin of price war

First recorded in 1925–30

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

price war

"I hesitate to say it's a price war because we're not quite there yet. But it's certainly a price competition to try and get more users on board," Gold said.

From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026

Such an agreement would likely spur an industrywide price war and fierce competition for customers — the main reason why the biggest three operators have vowed not to ink this sort of partnership.

From MarketWatch ● Jul. 25, 2026

OpenAI and Anthropic are contemplating a price war.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 17, 2026

The Chinese government last year clamped down on what it saw as excessive competition in the EV industry, fearful that a vicious price war was hurting suppliers and contributing to the deflationary mood.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

If Burger King and McDonald’s launch a price war to gain market share, they partly make up in volume what they lose in price.

From "Freakonomics: A Rogue Economist Explores the Hidden Side of Everything" by Steven D. Levitt