war
Pluralwars
Pluralwars
- 1Armed conflict between countries or between large organized groups, including irregular or terrorist forces; or a particular such conflict ('the Second World War').
Historians still argue about the real causes of the war.
The war reshaped the nation's borders and its politics for decades.
UsageCountries are at war with each other, go to war or declare war on one another; soldiers fight in a war.
Similarconflict, warfare, fighting, hostilities
Oppositepeace
Note
The plural is natural here, as in Herman Melville's "the wars of Grant and Lee" in The Surrender at Appomattox (1866).
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- Herman Melville's poem The Surrender at Appomattox contains the words "the wars of Grant and Lee". gutenberg.org
- The poem was first published in 1866, in Battle-Pieces and Aspects of the War. clarklibrary.ucla.edu
- 2A sustained campaign directed against a social problem, idea, or set of values.
The mayor's war on litter transformed the city's streets.
Their war against misinformation relied on school programs and public service announcements.
UsageUsually war on or war against something: declare war on poverty.
Similarcampaign, crusade, drive, fight, battle
Note
The enemy is usually a problem or an idea rather than a people. William James turned the figure on itself in The Moral Equivalent of War (1910) with "the war against war," a campaign that would be "no holiday excursion."
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 2 facts
- William James wrote The Moral Equivalent of War, first published in 1910. iiif.library.cmu.edu
- James described "the war against war" as "no holiday excursion". en.wikisource.org
- 3Any long, bitter conflict or struggle between people or groups, including a heated argument ('a war of words').
Keeping the rabbits out of her vegetable garden turned into a war that lasted all summer.
Their rivalry became a quiet war fought through memos and meetings.
Similarbattle, struggle, conflict, feud, fight
Oppositepeace
- 4A prolonged instance of fierce competition between businesses or traders.
The two supermarkets became locked in a price war, each trying to undercut the other.
A long war over market share left both manufacturers selling below cost.
UsageUsually a compound naming what is fought over: a price war; firms are locked in one.
Similarbattle, rivalry, competition, fight
Note
Firms in such a war undercut, outspend or outproduce each other to win market share. Often the whole sector ends up with thinner margins, which is why the word suits it better than competition.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 1 fact
- Such competition can reduce firms' profit margins. en.wikipedia.org
- 5To fight a war or carry on a long conflict, often followed by with or against.
Neighboring states warred constantly throughout the medieval period.
Border tribes still war over scarce water and land.
UsageThe r doubles: warred, warring. Warring often describes groups: warring factions.
Similarfight, battle, clash, feud
Note
The Bible of 1611 shows the classic pattern, war against ("they warred against the Midianites"), and with is the other common way to name the foe. The participle also describes inner struggle. George Bernard Shaw's Cashel Byron's Profession, written in 1882, has a line of thought "warring with his inner knowledge," a figurative use that remains natural today.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts
- The 1611 King James Bible contains the quoted wording. kingjamesbibleonline.org
- George Bernard Shaw wrote Cashel Byron's Profession. en.wikipedia.org
- Composition extended through 1882–83; the first book edition appeared in 1886. Use 1886 for the publication date. en.wikipedia.org
- The novel describes a train of thought as warring with someone's inner knowledge. gutenberg.org
Less common meanings
- 6A prolonged conflict between two groups of organized criminals, usually over control of territory or operations.
The cartels' war for the border routes left dozens dead.
Police struggled to contain the war between rival crime families.
Similarfeud, battle, conflict, vendetta
Note
A historical feud can also take a proper name, as with the Castellammarese War. Such wars typically involve reprisal killings and shifting alliances between gangs, cartels or crime families.
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- The Castellammarese War was a historical conflict between organized criminals. en.wikipedia.org
- Gang conflicts involve retaliatory killings. archives.fbi.gov
- Alliances between criminal groups can shift during their conflicts. fbi.gov
- 7A family of card games in which all cards are dealt out and players try to capture them all, usually needing no skill and simply passing time.
The children passed a rainy afternoon playing war at the kitchen table.
We dealt out the whole deck and played war until someone had won every card.
UsageUsed without an article, and often capitalized: play war or play War.
Note
The name belongs to a simple comparing game. Players turn up cards together, and the higher card captures the others. Since the shuffle decides everything, nobody makes a choice, and that is why it serves to kill time. Karen Salyer McElmurray lists it beside crazy eights and fifty-two card pickup in Strange Birds in the Tree of Heaven (1999).
Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts
- War involves revealing cards together and capturing cards by comparing their ranks. arxiv.org
- This requires fixed rules for returning captured cards; otherwise, players can choose their order, potentially changing the outcome. en.wikipedia.org
- Karen Salyer McElmurray's novel lists war alongside crazy eights and fifty-two card pickup. en.wiktionary.org
- 8The armed forces; a body of soldiers assembled as a fighting host.
On thir imbattelld ranks the Waves return, And overwhelm thir Warr
1667, John Milton, Paradise LostNote
The word once stood for the people doing the fighting, a use now obsolete. In Paradise Lost (1667), Milton has the waves "overwhelm thir Warr," drowning the host itself rather than ending a conflict. Like the obsolete "weapons" sense, it names a concrete thing instead of an event. A modern reader should take it to mean an army.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 4 facts
- War formerly meant armed forces; this sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
- John Milton wrote Paradise Lost, first published in 1667. en.wikisource.org
- The quotation is accurate and describes waves overwhelming an army. en.wikisource.org
- The army sense and the obsolete weapons sense denote concrete things. en.wiktionary.org
- 9A collection of weapons; the equipment and instruments used for fighting.
Note
Here the word meant the hardware of fighting, a meaning now obsolete. A modern reader can easily misread Matthew Prior's "Henry and Emma" (1709). When Love keeps "his complement of stores, and total war," Prior means his entire stock of weapons, not the modern idea of total war waged by a whole society. Today the phrase would be arms or armaments.
Checked 31 Oct 2026 · 5 facts
- War formerly meant weapons or military equipment; this sense is obsolete. en.wiktionary.org
- Matthew Prior wrote Henry and Emma, published in the collection dated 1709. en.wikipedia.org
- The quoted wording occurs in Henry and Emma, where Emma describes the God of Love dwelling within her with his stores and weapons. eighteenthcenturypoetry.org
- Prior's war means an entire collection of weapons in this quotation. en.wiktionary.org
- The modern concept of total war involves a society's resources and population. en.wikipedia.org
Showing meanings only.
Practice
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Origin
The Proto-Indo-European root *wers-, meaning "to mix up, confuse, beat, thresh," lies behind Frankish *werru ("confusion, quarrel"), which passed into Medieval Latin as werra and into Old Northern French as werre (modern French guerre). Late Old English borrowed werre, which became Middle English werre. Over time it gradually took the place of native Old English words such as beadu, hild, and wīġ as the general word for "war." Old High German werra ("strife, quarrel") is related.
Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 9 facts
- The Proto-Indo-European root *wers-, with the stated meanings, lies behind the Frankish ancestor of war. en.wiktionary.org
- Frankish *werru meant confusion or quarrel. en.wiktionary.org
- Medieval Latin borrowed the Frankish word as werra. en.wiktionary.org
- Old Northern French werre derives from Medieval Latin werra. en.wiktionary.org
- Modern French guerre descends from the corresponding Old French word. en.wiktionary.org
- Late Old English borrowed werre from French. en.wikipedia.org
- Old English werre became Middle English werre. en.wiktionary.org
- War gradually displaced native Old English terms including beadu, hild, and wīġ as the general term. en.wiktionary.org
- Old High German werra is related and had the meanings strife and quarrel. en.wiktionary.org