- war
- [[t]wɔ͟ː(r)[/t]]
♦wars1) N-VAR A war is a period of fighting or conflict between countries or states.
He spent part of the war in the National Guard.
...matters of war and peace...
They've been at war for the last fifteen years.
Ant:2) N-VAR: usu with supp War is intense economic competition between countries or organizations.The most important thing is to reach an agreement and to avoid a trade war.
3) N-VAR: oft N against/on n If you make war on someone or something that you are opposed to, you do things to stop them succeeding.She has been involved in the war against organised crime.
...if the United States is to be successful in its war on drugs.
4) → See also , civil war, , council of war5) PHRASE: V inflects If someone has been in the wars, they have been injured, for example in a fight or in an accident. [INFORMAL]Ben has also been in the wars. He is still in plaster after breaking a leg.
6) PHRASE: V inflects If a country goes to war, it starts fighting a war.Do you think this crisis can be settled without going to war?
7) PHRASE: oft PHR between/with n If two people, countries, or organizations have a war of words, they criticize each other because they strongly disagree about something. [JOURNALISM]Animal rights activists have been engaged in an increasingly bitter war of words with many of the nation's zoos.
English dictionary. 2008.
