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

As book readers know, those events culminated in a civil war and the extinction of the dragons—at least until Daenerys Targaryen came along. —ArsTechnica, 29 May 2026

During the civil war, the Army splintered along sectarian lines, and, for a time, that consensus collapsed. —Euan Ward, New Yorker, 29 May 2026

Hadi was a senior officer when civil war erupted in 1986, following a fallout between rival factions of Southern Yemen’s then governing Socialist party. —ABC News, 28 May 2026

Construction of the 1,911-mile transcontinental railroad connecting California with the eastern half of the United States began in 1863, while the nation was engaged in a bloody civil war, and was completed six years later when its two legs were joined at Promontory Summit in Utah. —Dan Walters, San Diego Union-Tribune, 27 May 2026

Word History

First Known Use

circa 1533, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for civil war

• albacore
• alongshore
• antiwar
• anymore
• carnivore
• commodore
• dinosaur
• evermore
• furthermore
• guarantor
• herbivore
• heretofore

Kids Definition

civil war

noun

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