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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

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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

Finland has an extended history of war with its larger eastern neighbor — Finns coined the term “Molotov cocktail” during their 1939 Winter War with Russia.

From New York Times • Feb. 12, 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

In 1939, Finland fought off an invasion from the Soviet Union in what became known as the Winter War, but ended up ceding its eastern province of Karelia.

From BBC • Apr. 13, 2022

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