civil war

noun

plural civil wars

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country

a country on the brink of (a) civil war

—often used in the capitalized names of specific wars

the Spanish Civil War

(American/U.S.) Civil War monuments

Note: The American Civil War, fought 1861–1865 between the United States and 11 southern states that had seceded from it, is also commonly known as the U.S. Civil War, or especially in the U.S. as the War Between the States or simply the Civil War.

Examples of civil war in a Sentence

a region that has had many civil wars

The country is on the brink of civil war.

Recent Examples on the Web

Iran and Russia worked together to keep Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in power after the onset of civil war in 2011. —Andrea Kendall-Taylor, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024

Kanye’s remix, as of now, has yet to hit streaming platforms and there are murmurs online of a version also featuring Pusha T. All of which suggests rap’s ongoing civil war won’t be concluding any time soon. —Jeff Ihaza, Rolling Stone, 21 Apr. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

civil war

noun

: a war between opposing groups of citizens of the same country or nation