war

¹

[wawr]

noun

1. a conflict carried on by force of arms, as between nations or between parties within a nation; warfare, as by land, sea, or air.

2. a state or period of armed hostility or active military operations.

   The two nations were at war with each other.

3. a contest carried on by force of arms, as in a series of battles or campaigns.

   the War of 1812.

4. armed fighting, as a science, profession, activity, or art; methods or principles of waging armed conflict.

   War is the soldier's business.

5. active hostility or contention; conflict; contest.

   a war of words.

6. aggressive business conflict, as through severe price cutting in the same industry or any other means of undermining competitors.

   a fare war among airlines; a trade war between nations.

7. a struggle to achieve a goal.

   the war on cancer;

   a war against poverty;

   a war for hearts and minds.

8. Cards.

   1. a game for two or more persons, played with a 52-card pack evenly divided between the players, in which each player turns up one card at a time with the higher card taking the lower, and in which, when both turned up cards match, each player lays one card face down and turns up another, the player with the higher card of the second turn taking all the cards laid down.

   2. an occasion in this game when both turned up cards match.

9. Archaic.,  a battle.

verb (used without object)

warred, warring 

1. to make or carry on war; fight.

   to war with a neighboring nation.

2. to carry on active hostility or contention.

   Throughout her life she warred with sin and corruption.

3. to be in conflict or in a state of strong opposition.

   The temptation warred with his conscience.

adjective

1. of, belonging to, used in, or due to war.

   war preparations; war hysteria.

war

²

[wahr]

adjective

Scot. and North England.

1. worse.

war.

³

abbreviation

1. warrant.

war

¹

/ wɔː /

noun

1. open armed conflict between two or more parties, nations, or states

2. a particular armed conflict

   the 1973 war in the Middle East

3. the techniques of armed conflict as a study, science, or profession

4. any conflict or contest

   a war of wits

   the war against crime

5. (modifier) of, relating to, resulting from, or characteristic of war

   a war hero

   war damage

   a war story

6. to have made the most of the opportunities presented to one during wartime

7. informal,  (esp of a child) hurt or knocked about, esp as a result of quarrelling and fighting

verb

1. (intr) to conduct a war

War.

²

abbreviation

1. Warwickshire

Word History and Origins

Origin of war¹

First recorded before 1150; Middle English noun wer(re), war(re), late Old English werre, wyrre, from Old North French wer(r)e, waire, from Old Frankish werra (unrecorded), from Germanic; cognate with Old High German werra, Middle Low German, Middle Dutch werre “strife, discord”; verb derivative of the noun; akin to war ², worse

Origin of war²

First recorded in 1300–50; Middle English wer(re), war(re), from Old Norse verri worse

Word History and Origins

Origin of war¹

C12: from Old Northern French werre (variant of Old French guerre ), of Germanic origin; related to Old High German werra

Idioms and Phrases

• all's fair in love and war
• at war
• been to the wars
• declare war
• tug of war

Example Sentences

The mayor is fighting a war on several fronts.

From Salon

The ministry also said 376 people have died during the war so far as a result of malnutrition and starvation.

From BBC

He compared this “new era,” as he called it, to the Cold War.

From Salon

The ongoing civil war in Sudan has also made rescue efforts more challenging, another aid group World Vision stated.

From BBC

Estimates for the death toll from the civil war vary significantly, but a US official last year estimated up to 150,000 people had been killed since hostilities began in 2023.

From BBC

Related Words

• battle 
• bloodshed 
• combat 
• conflict 
• fighting 
• hostility 
• strife 
• strike 
• struggle 
• warfare