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.
Special Forces in a dramatic military operation in January, told the judge that he had been kidnapped and was a prisoner of war.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 22, 2026
His father, a prisoner of war in the Dutch East Indies, would have likely died in Japanese custody had American forces not swept through the Pacific.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 6, 2026
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
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
He arrived from Long Beach, California, at the beginning of January, in a country where cattle often freeze to death, and he was of course a prisoner of war.
From "Farewell to Manzanar" by Jeanne Houston
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.
