shooting war

noun

open conflict between hostile nations involving direct military engagements.

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Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018

Examples from the Web for shooting war

Historical Examples

But Hengly can turn this world upside down and might even get a shooting-war going before they get here.
The K-Factor
Harry Harrison (AKA Henry Maxwell Dempsey)