price war

noun

: commercial competition characterized by the repeated cutting of prices below those of competitors

Examples of price war in a Sentence

The airlines are engaged in another price war.
Recent Examples on the Web Last month, Tesla sales sunk by almost 11% year-on-year, despite the company embarking on a year-long price war with rivals like BYD and Nio. Lionel Lim, Fortune, 27 Oct. 2023 Tesla and its domestic rivals, such as BYD and other upstarts like Nio and XPeng, have been engaged in a fierce price war since late last year. Bylionel Lim, Fortune, 9 Oct. 2023 Yet the company is also facing sluggish demand, pushing it to launch aggressive price wars in both China and the U.S. Bynicholas Gordon, Fortune, 3 Oct. 2023 At home, China’s automakers are under pressure amid slowing consumer demand that has sparked an aggressive price war. Kevin Whitelaw, Fortune, 13 Sep. 2023 But the price cuts for its higher-end models underscored the continued pressure EV makers face, especially in China where Tesla sparked a price war with Chinese rivals including industry leader BYD earlier this year. Reuters, NBC News, 1 Sep. 2023 One of China’s most popular stock bets of the past year is unraveling fast, weighed down by an intensifying e-commerce price war and weaker economic growth. Jeanny Yu, Bloomberg.com, 7 June 2023 Innovation in legacy chips may help U.S. chipmakers survive a price war. Byrakesh Kumar, Fortune, 18 Aug. 2023 While much ink has been spilled about an impending EV price war, most of the moves currently take place within just two companies: Tesla and Ford. Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 2 May 2023 See More

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'price war.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1895, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of price war was in 1895

Dictionary Entries Near price war

Cite this Entry

“Price war.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/price%20war. Accessed 4 Dec. 2023.

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
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