WAR


Meaning of WAR in English

war S2 W1 /wɔː $ wɔːr/ BrE AmE noun

[ Word Family: noun : ↑ war , ↑ warfare , ↑ warrior ; adjective : ↑ pre-war ≠ ↑ post-war , ↑ warring ]

[ Date: 1100-1200 ; Language: Old North French ; Origin: werre , from Old French guerre ]

1 . [uncountable and countable] when there is fighting between two or more countries or between opposing groups within a country, involving large numbers of soldiers and weapons OPP peace :

the Vietnam War

He served as a pilot during the war.

war against/with/between

the war with Spain

2 . [uncountable and countable] a struggle over a long period of time to control something harmful

war on/against

the State’s war on drugs

the war against racism

3 . [uncountable and countable] a situation in which a person or group is fighting for power, influence, or control:

No one wants to start a trade war here.

a ratings war between the major TV networks

⇨ ↑ price war

4 . be in the wars British English spoken used, often humorously, to say that someone has lots of injuries or health problems:

You’ve really been in the wars lately, haven’t you?

5 . this means war spoken used humorously to say that you are ready to fight or argue about something

⇨ ↑ cold war , ↑ war of attrition , ↑ war of nerves , ↑ war of words , ↑ warring

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COLLOCATIONS

■ verbs

▪ fight a war

The two countries fought a brief war in 1995.

▪ fight in a war (=take part as a soldier)

Her grandfather fought in the war.

▪ win/lose a war

The Allies had won the war.

|

What would have happened if we’d lost the war?

▪ declare war

In 1941, Britain and the US declared war on Japan.

▪ wage/make war (=to start and continue a war)

Their aim was to destroy the country’s capacity to wage war.

▪ go to war (=become involved in a war)

It has been said that democracies don’t go to war with each other.

▪ war breaks out (=it starts)

They married just before war broke out.

▪ a war rages (=continues in a very violent way)

A civil war is still raging there.

■ phrases

▪ be at war

Russia was at war with Poland.

▪ be on the brink of war (=be about to be involved in a war)

The country was on the brink of war.

▪ the outbreak of war (=the time when a war starts)

A week after the outbreak of war, he enlisted in the army.

▪ the horrors of war

They wanted to forget the horrors of war they had witnessed.

■ ADJECTIVES/NOUN + war

▪ a world war

No one wants another world war.

▪ a civil war (=between opposing groups within a country)

the English Civil War

▪ a nuclear war (=involving nuclear weapons)

The possibility of nuclear war was much on people’s minds in the Fifties.

▪ a conventional war (=not nuclear)

A conventional war would still cause unacceptable devastation.

▪ a guerrilla war (=involving a small unofficial military group)

The nine-year guerrilla war has ended at last.

▪ the Korean/Vietnam/Iraq etc War

People were protesting against the Vietnam War.

▪ World War I/World War II

He was a pilot in World War II.

▪ a just war (=one that you believe is right)

They believe that they are fighting a just war.

▪ a religious war

How many people have died in religious wars?

■ war + NOUN

▪ the war years

The couple spent most of the war years apart.

▪ a war hero

At home he was hailed as a war hero.

▪ a war veteran (=someone who took part in a war)

There was a service for war veterans in the Garden of Remembrance.

▪ a war criminal (=someone who behaves very cruelly in a war, in a way that is against international law)

the arrest of two suspected Nazi war criminals

▪ a war correspondent (=a reporter sending reports from a war)

Being a war correspondent is a dangerous job.

▪ a war zone (=an area where a war is fought)

The country had turned into a war zone.

▪ a war crime (=a cruel act in a war which is against international law)

They will be charged with war crimes.

▪ a war wound

He still suffered pain from an old war wound.

▪ a war grave

He had gone with a friend to visit the war graves in Flanders.

■ COMMON ERRORS

► Do not say ' do the war '. Say go to war or make war .

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THESAURUS

▪ war noun [uncountable and countable] a situation in which there is fighting between countries or opposing groups within a country, with large numbers of soldiers and weapons:

He fought in World War II.

|

the horrors of war

▪ conflict noun [uncountable and countable] a situation in which there is fighting or a war – used especially in news reports:

the conflict in the Middle East

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There is increasing danger of armed conflict.

▪ fighting noun [uncountable] a situation in which people or groups fight each other and try to kill each other:

The fighting went on for months.

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Fighting in the north has resulted in hundreds of deaths.

▪ hostilities noun [plural] formal fighting in a war:

The agreement called on the guerrillas to cease hostilities (=stop fighting) and begin peace talks.

▪ warfare noun [uncountable] the activity of fighting in a war – used especially to talk about a method of fighting:

new and more advanced methods of warfare

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chemical warfare

▪ battle noun [uncountable and countable] an occasion when two armies, groups of ships etc fight each other in one place during a war:

the great naval battles of the Napoleonic Wars

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the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805

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He died in battle.

▪ skirmish /ˈskɜːmɪʃ $ ˈskɜːr-/ noun [countable] a short fight between small groups of soldiers, ships etc, especially one that happens away from the main part of a war or battle:

There were minor skirmishes between Indian and Pakistani troops across the border.

▪ combat noun [uncountable] the act of fighting, especially during a war:

Few of them had any experience of combat.

|

hand-to-hand combat

▪ action noun [uncountable] military actions carried out by the army, navy etc of a country during a war – used especially in the following phrases:

He was killed in action in 1944.

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Her son went missing in action.

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Her grandfather saw action (=fought) in two world wars.

Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English.      Longman - Словарь современного английского языка.