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general::
war
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 .
transnet.ir
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general::
noun ADJ. long, short | bloody | all-out, full-scale, total Six years of total war had left no citizen untouched. | limited | holy, just | civil, global, world | air, guerrilla | atomic, nuclear | cold | economic, trade | price | class VERB + WAR be in, fight in My grandfather fought in two world wars. | fight, make, wage The two countries fought a short but bloody war. The Spartans were persuaded to make war on Athens. The terrorists were charged with waging war against the state. | win | lose | declare | go to The country went to war in 1914. | avert, prevent | be ravaged by WAR + VERB approach, loom, threaten | begin, break out, come, erupt, start | escalate, spread talks to prevent the war from escalating | continue, drag on, go on, last, progress, rage (on) The war raged for nearly two years. | come to an end, end WAR + NOUN years the shortage of food during the war years | hero, veteran | chief, leader | casualty, victim | damage | correspondent the war correspondent of a daily newspaper | artist, poet | zone | effort Every available resource went towards the war effort. | record Both candidates have distinguished war records. | wound | crime, criminal | graves, memorial | aims | damages, reparations | baby, bride, widow | booty | cry, dance | machine the Soviet war machine PREP. at ~ a country at war | between the ~s (= between the First and Second World Wars), in (a/the) ~ killed in war He took part in the Vietnam War. | ~ against/with the war against the French a war against drug abuse | ~ between war between Iran and Iraq | ~ on The US declared war on Japan. | ~ with a trade war with the United States PHRASES the horrors of war The country had just emerged from the horrors of civil war. | in a state of war, in time/times of war In times of war, troops were billeted in the mill. | on a war footing The army had been placed on a war footing. | the brink of war The crisis took Europe to the brink of war. | the outbreak of war At the outbreak of war, most children were evacuated to the countryside. | a theatre of war These aircraft are designed to take troops and weapons to any theatre of war in the shortest time possible. | a war of attrition
Oxford Collocations Dictionary
5
general::
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 • 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. • 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 • 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 • the Battle of Trafalgar in 1805 • He died in battle.
skirmish
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. • Her son went missing in action . • Her grandfather saw action (= fought ) in two world wars.
Longman-Thesaurus