Meaning & use
make war
Last updated
Meanings
phraseidiom
to fight a war or start a war against an enemy
Grammar: Often used with 'on' or 'against': make war on someone.
Patterns
- make war on someone
- make war against someone
- make war with someone
The two countries made war on each other for nearly a decade.
The king decided to make war against his neighbors.
They made war with the neighboring tribe over land.
phraseidiomfigurative
to actively oppose something, such as a problem or a practice
Grammar: Used figuratively, often with 'on': make war on poverty.
Patterns
- make war on something
The new mayor promised to make war on crime.
The organization has made war on plastic pollution for years.
Common combinations
- make war on
- The rebels made war on the government.
- make war against
- They made war against the invaders.
- make war with
- The two nations made war with each other for control of the sea.
Synonyms and how they differ
- wage war
- Similar meaning, but 'wage war' is more common in modern formal writing and news reports.
- fight
- More general; you can fight a battle or an illness, but 'make war' specifically means starting or conducting a war.
Opposites
Commonly confused: make war or make war?
make war vs make war
Learners sometimes confuse this with 'make war' meaning to start a war, but it can also mean to campaign against something figuratively.
Practice
The president declared that the country would make war ___ terrorism.
Choose one answer.
'Make war on' is the standard phrase meaning to fight against something. 'At' and 'for' do not fit this idiom, and 'with' would suggest fighting alongside, not against.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “make war”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.