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prisoner of war

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noun

a person who is captured and held by an enemy during war, especially a member of the armed forces. Abbreviation: POW

Origin of prisoner of war

First recorded in 1670–80
Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Related Words for prisoner of war

prisoner, captive, hostage, pow

Examples from the Web for prisoner of war

Historical Examples of prisoner of war

  • He treated the wounded soldier and the prisoner-of-war with kindness.

    In the Shadow of Death

    P. H. Kritzinger and R. D. McDonald

  • In my opinion no prisoner-of-war has ever escaped without more than a fair share of luck, and no one ever will.

  • Imagine his astonishment on learning that he was then addressing the very man whom he had hoped to meet as a prisoner-of-war.

    In the Shadow of Death

    P. H. Kritzinger and R. D. McDonald

  • I was at last acquitted, and could return to my lonely chamber not as a criminal, but as a prisoner-of-war!

    In the Shadow of Death

    P. H. Kritzinger and R. D. McDonald

  • The crews were not only trained in prisoner-of-war tactics, but also well supplied with small luxuries.

    The Outbreak of Peace

    Horace Brown Fyfe

British Dictionary definitions for prisoner of war

prisoner of war

noun

a person, esp a serviceman, captured by an enemy in time of warAbbreviation: POW
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