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

See Examples For:

white flag

Columbia Law School business professor Eric Talley added: “This doesn’t constitute Paramount Skydance coming out and waving a big white flag — but it is a small white flag of surrender.”

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 25, 2026

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 ● Mar. 31, 2026

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 ● Mar. 1, 2026

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

From Barron's ● Jan. 30, 2026

I live in a community that waves a white flag because we have almost given up.

From "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago" by LeAlan Jones