world war

American  

noun

1. a war that involves most of the principal nations of the world.

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Etymology

Origin of world war

First recorded in 1910–15

Example Sentences

Supposedly the ultimate check on power, many became the walking wounded, moving by instinct with a hand on the shoulder of the person ahead of them, like soldiers in the first world war.

From Salon • Mar. 17, 2026

In November 2024, Koguan said he was “no longer all-in-Tesla” and began acquiring Treasury bills, citing his fear of a “1929 type stock market crash” and a potential third world war.

From MarketWatch • Mar. 4, 2026

“Im trying to get updates on whether world war 3 is on but all im seeing are fat JD vance memes.”

From Slate • Mar. 5, 2025

"Nobody argues that there were millions of victims during the second world war," Israel's Ambassador to Moscow Simone Halperin tells me.

From BBC • Jan. 27, 2025

They knew there was a world war going on: It meant that they were cold and hungry, separated from family and home—some of them even from their own children.

From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein