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Definition war in British English

war noun

noun
/wɔː(r)/

▪ avert, declare, fight, launch, lose, prevent, provoke, spark, trigger, wage, win

1

fighting between two or more countries that involves the use of armed forces and usually continues for a long time

Example

The negotiations failed, and war now seemed inevitable.

Example

the ever-present threat of nuclear war

Example

They have been at war for five years.

Example

Let's hope they can find a solution without going to war.

Example

I volunteered for the Navy when war broke out.

Example

When Poland was invaded, the Allies had no choice but to declare war.

Synonyms and related words
drawdown overwatch war
1.1

fighting between opposing groups within one country

Example

Sierra Leone had endured ten years of war.

Synonyms and related words
drawdown overwatch war
1.2

a particular period of fighting between countries or groups of people

Example

the American War of Independence

Example

the wars between England and Scotland in the 14th century

Example

The King led England into another war against France.

Synonyms and related words
drawdown overwatch war
2

a determined and organized effort to control or stop something, for example a disease or crime

Example

This is a major victory in the war against drugs.

Example

We will continue to wage war on organized crime.

Synonyms and related words
heavy lifting ask work
3

a situation in which countries, organizations, or businesses compete with each other to gain economic power or control

Example

This could easily start a trade war.

Example

the war for supremacy in the fast-food industry

Synonyms and related words
arms race competition contest
4

a situation in which two people or groups of people fight, argue, or are extremely unpleasant to each other

Example

He was angry, but reluctant to declare war on his old friends.

Example

You know this means war!

Synonyms and related words
argument disagreement conflict
Synonyms and related words
Allied the Allies antebellum
Definition war in British English

Related Words

Words related to war:

a war of words (phrase) air war (noun) all’s fair in love and war (phrase) of nerves (phrase) civil war (noun) class struggle (noun) cold war (noun) conventional (adjective) council of war (noun) culture war (noun) flame war (noun) Gulf War Syndrome (noun) holy war (noun) lose the battle but win the war (phrase) man-of-war (noun) phoney war (noun) Portuguese man-of-war (noun) post-war (adjective) pre-war (adjective) price war (noun) prisoner of war (noun) the Boer War () the Boston Tea Party () the First World War (noun) the Gulf War () the Second World War () the Vietnam War () tug-of-war (noun) turf war (noun) war (noun) war chest (noun) war crime (noun) war cry (noun) war dance (noun) war effort (noun) war game (noun) war memorial (noun) War of the Roses () war of words (noun) war paint (noun) war room (noun) war widow (noun) war zone (noun) war-torn (adjective) world war (noun) World War I () World War II () World War III ()