noun
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an agreement to stop fighting, esp temporarily
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temporary cessation of something unpleasant
Usage
What does truce mean? A truce is a stoppage of fighting between two or more people or sides in a conflict, especially a temporary one. The agreement, or treaty, that establishes such a stoppage can also be called a truce. When used in the context of military conflicts, a truce is often temporary and set for a specified period of time. Truce can also be used casually to refer to an agreement between two or more people to stop arguing or engaging in some less serious form of conflict, like a pillow fight (not that pillow fights can’t get pretty intense). Example: I realized the bad blood between me and Taylor was really petty, so we both decided to call a truce.
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of truce
1175–1225; Middle English trewes, plural of trewe, Old English trēow belief, pledge, treaty. See trow
Explanation
When two warring sides decide to call it quits, it's called a truce — an agreement to end the fighting. When there's a truce, the two sides stop attacking each other, catch their breath, and try to work out a peace deal. A truce isn't a permanent solution: it's more like a time-out. People with other kinds of conflicts talk about truces, too. If you and your sister are in an ongoing battle, one of you could say, "Can we please call a truce?" That means you'll take a break from squabbling, at least for a while.
Vocabulary lists containing truce
"Tinker v. Des Moines": Excerpts from Justice Fortas's Opinion
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Fallen Angels
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"Roller Girl" by Victoria Jamieson
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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.
See Examples For:
These were among the coalition’s first airstrikes inside Yemen since a United Nations-brokered truce took effect in 2022, intensifying conflict on its volatile front lines.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 26, 2026
It comes a week after the most significant escalation in the largely dormant conflict between the Houthis and Saudi Arabia since an informal truce took effect in 2022.
From BBC ● Jul. 20, 2026
Walking through, Hajj Ali reminisced on her home in Nabatieh al-Fawqa, which she was only able to visit once after an April truce that ultimately failed to stop the fighting.
From Barron's ● Jul. 19, 2026
Gaza officials say they have recovered 784 bodies since the truce began, according to a June report by the Palestinian news agency Wafa.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 9, 2026
The army paper Stars and Stripes was full of the truce talks in Paris, but the war was still going on.
From "Fallen Angels" by Walter Dean Myers
It brokered the two truces and threw its weight behind then junta chief Min Aung Hlaing when he mounted elections he touted as a return to civilian rule.
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
But the tide has turned back in favour of the military, analysts say, after China threw support behind it and Beijing-backed truces were signed with two of the most powerful ethnic minority armies.
From Barron's ● Jul. 1, 2026
A number of limited, temporary truces have been held since 2022 - many held around holidays or only involving applying to energy infrastructure or the Black Sea.
From BBC ● Apr. 30, 2026
Earlier truces, in late 2023 and early 2025, collapsed and were followed with even more intensive conflict.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 10, 2025
"Knights may keep their truces with other knights, but they are not so careful of their honor When dealing with those they deem outlaw."
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
