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.

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

An internecine price war that shrinks margins is extremely damaging in the run-up to an IPO.

From MarketWatch • Jun. 11, 2026

A possible price war between OpenAI and Anthropic won’t help the big developers turn a profit any sooner.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jun. 11, 2026

Last year, a price war among major delivery apps led the government to warn against such a race to the bottom.

From BBC • Jun. 2, 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