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 series chronicled the lives of British women in Singapore after the Japanese invasion and their consequent confinement in a Japanese prisoner of war camp.
From BBC ● Sep. 18, 2026
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
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
They ended with no breakthrough - although the first prisoner of war exchanges in months took place shortly after.
From BBC ● Feb. 17, 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.
