Winter War

British

noun

the war of the winter of 1939–40 between Finland and the USSR after which the Finns surrendered the Karelian Isthmus to the USSR

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Most of Finnish Karelia was grabbed by Joseph Stalin's forces in 1940 after the bloody Winter War, when Finland put up stiff resistance to the Soviets despite overwhelming odds.

From Barron's • Feb. 25, 2026

"They also have a memory of the Winter War, which transpired during World War Two, where they were invaded by the Soviet Union."

From BBC • Mar. 31, 2025

The neighbors have fought numerous wars through the centuries, and Finns have strong memories of the 1939 Winter War and World War II, when their country fought the Soviet Union and lost territory.

From New York Times • Jan. 28, 2024

Having detected flaws in the Soviet Union’s invasion of Poland and its struggle against Finland in the Winter War, Hitler was confident he could defeat Stalin.

From Textbooks • Dec. 14, 2022

Finnish Winter War veterans were recruited for the U.S.

From Seattle Times • Aug. 20, 2022

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