prisoner of war
Americannoun
noun
Etymology
Origin of prisoner of war
First recorded in 1670–80
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.
In one, a courtroom illustration of Maduro in a New York courthouse springs to life and announces: "I consider myself a prisoner of war."
From Barron's • Jan. 20, 2026
"I'm a president and prisoner of war," he shouted towards the man in the audience in Spanish.
From BBC • Jan. 5, 2026
In August, word reached back home that Igor Dolgopolov, 31 years old, had been made a prisoner of war after being deployed to Chasiv Yar in eastern Ukraine.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 22, 2025
The man is said to have served at a prisoner of war camp in Hemer, western Germany, which held at least 100,000 inmates, mostly from the Soviet Union.
From Barron's • Nov. 24, 2025
You see, your father was a naval surgeon, a prisoner of war while here in Boston.
From "Johnny Tremain" by Esther Hoskins Forbes
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
