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.
The violin in Baerwald’s hands was the one his German-Jewish grandfather played as a Japanese prisoner of war in the Bandō camp at Tokushima during World War I. “It’s a very serviceable violin,” Baerwald notes.
From Los Angeles Times • Jun. 8, 2026
The bigtime journalist Tyler, it seems, is in Khartoum, awaiting an interview with a Sudanese prisoner of war, part of his research for a new book.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 28, 2026
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
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
André refused, for he was well aware that if he disguised himself, he could be hanged as a spy; if he was captured in uniform, he would live as a prisoner of war.
From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen
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.
