price war

American

noun

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.

price war British

noun

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

"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 price war

First recorded in 1925–30

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.

See Examples For:

price war

The backdrop for both flotations has been complicated recently by talk of a price war in the cost of AI tokens by which the AI companies charge for their services and products.

From MarketWatch ● Jun. 26, 2026

“This price war is going to be good and we want to help enable that,” said Grinberg.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 12, 2026

Growth has slowed after years of expansion, while overcapacity and an intense price war are squeezing profits across the industry.

From BBC ● May 27, 2026

That has helped fuel a price war across coffee, tea, and fast food.

From Barron's ● May 26, 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

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023