war

1 of 4

noun

often attributive
1
a(1)
: a state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations
(2)
: a period of such armed conflict
(3)
b
: the art or science of warfare
c(1)
obsolete : weapons and equipment for war
(2)
archaic : soldiers armed and equipped for war
2
a
: a state of hostility, conflict, or antagonism
b
: a struggle or competition between opposing forces or for a particular end
a class war
a war against disease
warless adjective

war

2 of 4

verb (1)

warred; warring

intransitive verb

1
: to be in active or vigorous conflict
2
: to engage in warfare

war

3 of 4

adverb or adjective

chiefly Scotland
: worse

war

4 of 4

verb (2)

warred; warring

Examples of war in a Sentence

Noun They fought a war over the disputed territory. A war broke out when the colonists demanded their independence. We need to resolve our conflicts without resorting to war. People behave differently during a time of war. The taking of American hostages was seen as an act of war by the United States. the budget wars in Washington
Recent Examples on the Web
Noun
Before the war, Philippe de Gaulle entered a naval academy. Brian Murphy, Washington Post, 16 Mar. 2024 One of the times Stanton got mad at him was because they were supposed to have an important war meeting, and Lincoln insisted on reading Shakespeare or something to them in the meeting. William Earl, Variety, 16 Mar. 2024 When the war first began, Birchard said his first reaction was to give his staff the day off or close the restaurant to make sure that everyone could connect with their families. Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 16 Mar. 2024 The war, in theory, could have been a pretext to galvanize Russian society. Joshua Yaffa, The New Yorker, 16 Mar. 2024 And yet, the same polls show that a majority of Russians believe that starting the war was justified and that Russia will ultimately win. Anna Nemtsova, The Atlantic, 16 Mar. 2024 That’s far below the 500 trucks that entered through the Rafah crossing alone before the war started. Nadeen Ebrahim, CNN, 15 Mar. 2024 Hamas also insisted any agreement should end the war. Lawrence Richard, Fox News, 15 Mar. 2024 And in recent months, YC has found itself in the crossfire of a war between tech and progressives. Steven Levy, WIRED, 15 Mar. 2024
Verb
Ruthless gangs have a stranglehold on the city, preying on the population, carving neighborhoods into warring criminal fiefdoms, and cutting Haiti’s international port off from the rest of the country. Caitlin Stephen Hu, CNN, 4 Mar. 2024 Luckily, Denis Villeneuve’s two-part adaptation of this novel about warring space clans and the interstellar drug trade manages to streamline things a bit (while still clocking in at a cumulative 320-plus minutes). Lucas Trevor, Washington Post, 4 Mar. 2024 According to the warring butter chicken franchises, Kundan Lal Gujral and Kundan Lal Jaggi had earlier worked for another man in Peshawar. Omkar Khandekar, NPR, 1 Mar. 2024 The slow-moving effort to deploy an armed multinational mission to help Haiti’s police force combat warring gangs has garnered an additional $120 million in commitments, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 24 Feb. 2024 Most women who turn to violence are not running around with lathis or warring with ISIS. Alexandra Schwartz, The New Yorker, 5 Feb. 2024 As Türk made his appeal, the death toll and deadly assaults continued to mount as an alliance between two previously warring gangs set its sights on controlling the Cul-de-Sac community north of the capital. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 12 Feb. 2024 In November, the Restoration Council of Shan State and the Shan State Progressive Party, two warring groups, signed a cease-fire. Avinash Paliwal, Foreign Affairs, 24 Jan. 2024 The area where the shooting occurred has in the past experienced violence and warring street crews operating in the low-slung, garden-style apartment complexes that contrast with the high-rise condo buildings in the gentrifying area of the ballpark. Peter Hermann, Washington Post, 21 Dec. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Noun

Middle English werre, from Anglo-French werre, guerre, of Germanic origin; akin to Old High German werra strife; akin to Old High German werran to confuse

Adverb or adjective

Middle English werre, from Old Norse verri, adjective, verr, adverb; akin to Old English wiersa worse — more at worse

First Known Use

Noun

12th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1a(1)

Verb (1)

13th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Adverb Or Adjective

13th century, in the meaning defined above

Verb (2)

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of war was in the 12th century

Dictionary Entries Near war

Cite this Entry

“War.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

war

1 of 2 noun
1
a
: a state or period of armed hostile conflict between states, nations, or groups
b
: the science of warfare
2
a
: a state of hostility, antagonism, or conflict
b
: a struggle between opposing forces or for a particular goal
a war on disease

war

2 of 2 verb
warred; warring
1
: to engage in warfare
warring nations
2
: to be in conflict

More from Merriam-Webster on war

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