war

[ wawr ]

/ wɔr /

noun

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

a state or period of armed hostility or active military operations: The two nations were at war with each other.

a contest carried on by force of arms, as in a series of battles or campaigns: the War of 1812.

armed fighting, as a science, profession, activity, or art; methods or principles of waging armed conflict: War is the soldier's business.

active hostility or contention; conflict; contest: a war of words.

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.

a struggle to achieve a goal: the war on cancer; a war against poverty; a war for hearts and minds.

Cards.

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

Archaic. a battle.

verb (used without object), warred, war·ring.

to make or carry on war; fight: to war with a neighboring nation.

to carry on active hostility or contention: Throughout her life she warred with sin and corruption.

to be in conflict or in a state of strong opposition: The temptation warred with his conscience.

adjective

of, belonging to, used in, or due to war: war preparations; war hysteria.

Origin of war

before 1150; (noun) Middle English, late Old English werre < Old North French < Germanic; cognate with Old High German werra strife; (v.) Middle English, late Old English werrien (transitive) to make war upon, derivative of the noun; compare Old French guerrer, Old North French werreier; akin to war²

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH war

war wore

Words nearby war

wapentake, wapiti, wappenshaw, wapperjaw, wapsipinicon, war, war and peace, war baby, war between the states, war bonnet, war bride

Example sentences from the Web for warring

For peace to have a chance, the calculations of the warring parties must change as well.

‘The Good Lie’ and the Hard Truths of South Sudan |John Prendergast |October 3, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
The warring courts that left two men in legal limbo and ultimately resolved nothing?

Mary Fallin’s Killer Fiasco |Michelle Cottle |May 1, 2014 |DAILY BEAST
Today, he is sick of Syria talk, and asserts that all warring sides are guilty of perpetuating the violence.

War Tourists Flock to Syria’s Front Lines |Ben Taub |November 2, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
The “warring nations,” which continued to be at odds, and might always be, did not forge modern Canada that way.

What Canada's History Teaches Us About the Feasibility of the One-State Paradigm |Bernard Avishai |September 24, 2013 |DAILY BEAST

If this trio smiles twice, it will be once more than the dour, warring panel from last season did.

Jennifer Lopez, Keith Urban, and Harry Connick Jr. Will Save ‘American Idol’ |Kevin Fallon |September 3, 2013 |DAILY BEAST
So after I had been warring with the world, there was now a wicked spirit risen amongst Friends to war against.

George Fox |George Fox
Forests that only exhibited the slow decay of time or the devastation produced by warring elements.

Letters written during a short residence in Sweden, Norway, and Denmark |Mary Wollstonecraft
After a second trip to the warring lands I am convinced that I was wrong in my first impression.

The War After the War |Isaac Frederick Marcosson
He was not great enough alone to reconcile the narrowing factors of trade with that warring law within him.

McClure's Magazine, Vol. XXXI, No. 3, July 1908. |Various
It was then that David of Mynyw, as he journeyed through Brycheiniog, declared his will to judge between the warring princes.

Star of Mercia |Blanche Devereux

British Dictionary definitions for warring

war

/ (wɔː) /

noun

open armed conflict between two or more parties, nations, or states Related adjectives: belligerent, martial

a particular armed conflict the 1973 war in the Middle East

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

any conflict or contest a war of wits; the war against crime

(modifier) of, relating to, resulting from, or characteristic of war a war hero; war damage; a war story

to have had a good war to have made the most of the opportunities presented to one during wartime

in the wars informal (esp of a child) hurt or knocked about, esp as a result of quarrelling and fighting

verb wars, warring or warred

(intr) to conduct a war

Word Origin for war

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

Idioms and Phrases with warring

war

In addition to the idioms beginning with war

ward off
war horse
war of nerves

also see:

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

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

war

noun

verb (used without object), warred, war·ring.

adjective

Origin of war

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH war

Words nearby war

Example sentences from the Web for warring

British Dictionary definitions for warring

noun

verb wars, warring or warred

Word Origin for war

Idioms and Phrases with warring

BROWSE DICTIONARY

Learning

war

noun

verb (used without object), warred, war·ring.

adjective

Origin of war

WORDS THAT MAY BE CONFUSED WITH war

Words nearby war

Words related to warring

Example sentences from the Web for warring

(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []) .push({}); British Dictionary definitions for warring

noun

verb wars, warring or warred

Word Origin for war

Idioms and Phrases with warring

British Dictionary definitions for warring