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War Department

American

noun

U.S. History.

the department of the federal government that, from 1789 until 1947, was responsible for defense and the military establishment: in 1947 it became the Department of the Army, which became part of the Department of Defense when it was established in 1949.

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.

President Abraham Lincoln spent many evenings in the War Department telegraph office reading dispatches and issuing orders.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 26, 2026

The Department of Defense, now called the War Department, is investing directly in companies, demanding greater production and new technology.

From Barron's • Jan. 14, 2026

"The upward trend is very clear, very obvious," says Yuri Belousov, the head of the War Department at the Ukrainian Prosecutor-General's Office.

From BBC • Dec. 21, 2024

He's an analyst for the War Department in World War II, probably because of his language skills.

From Salon • Apr. 20, 2024

An officer left the War Department and delivered death warrants to the defendants Mary Surratt, David Herold, George Atzerodt, and Lewis Powell.

From "Chasing Lincoln's Killer" by James L. Swanson

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023