white flag

American  

noun

1. an all-white banner or piece of cloth, used as a symbol of surrender or truce.

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idioms

1. hoist / show / wave the white flag, to give up; weaken; yield.

white flag British  

noun

1. a white flag or a piece of white cloth hoisted to signify surrender or request a truce

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Other Word Forms

• white-flag adjective

Etymology

Origin of white flag

First recorded in 1590–1600

Example Sentences

In short, they are waving the white flag on the idea of predicting when the war will end and the oil will flow.

From MarketWatch

It’s the perfect accompaniment to the sight of Harper and Yasmin, dancing together at a club, relieved to have waved the white flag, at least for tonight.

From Salon

Wall Street’s last remaining Seagate bear waved the white flag on his Negative rating earlier this month.

From Barron's

But in an interview with the Melbourne Age newspaper she took aim at Russian and Belarusian players, despite them competing under a neutral white flag as independents.

From Barron's

For weeks now, angry and distressed residents in Indonesia's westernmost province have been raising white flags over the state's slow response to a series of deadly floods.

From BBC