war

/wɔːr/

Definition

A2 armed fighting between two or more countries or groups, or a particular example of this: nuclear war a war film/grave/hero/poet If this country goes to (= starts to fight in a) war we will have to face the fact that many people will die. Britain and France declared war on Germany in 1939 as a result of the invasion of Poland. War broke out between the two countries after a border dispute. They've been at war for the last five years. He died in the First World War/the Vietnam war.War war of attrition › a war that is fought over a long period and only ends when one side has neither the soldiers and equipment nor the determination left to continue fightingWar war of nerves › a situation, often before a competition or battle, in which two opposing sides attempt to frighten or discourage each other by making threats or by showing how strong or clever they areFighting C2 any situation in which there is strong competition between opposing sides or a great fight against something harmful: The past few months have witnessed a price war between leading supermarkets. The government are to step up their attempt to wage war against/on drugs.FightingArguments and disagreements

(Definition of war noun from the Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary & Thesaurus © Cambridge University Press)