war power

noun

: the power to make war

specifically : an extraordinary power exercised usually by the executive branch of a government in the prosecution of a war

Examples of war power in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Johnson's absence was notable from the speaker, who is second in line of succession to the president, especially as Congress is expected to have the final say on the military's use of the nation's war powers. —Arkansas Online, 10 Dec. 2025

Bipartisan oversight of the operation will proceed, as some Republican and Democratic lawmakers are pushing Congress to pass a war powers resolution related to the strikes. —Jason Lemon, MSNBC Newsweek, 2 Dec. 2025

Remember that the framers of our Constitution chose to put the war power in the hands of Congress even though George Washington was president. —NBC news, 19 Oct. 2025

This practice has led some US lawmakers to push for repealing these authorizations, as Congress looks to wrestle back some authority over war powers and foreign policy. —Morgan Chalfant, semafor.com, 17 Oct. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1766, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for war power

• airpower
• brainpower
• devour
• empower
• firepower
• horsepower
• manpower
• mayflower
• safflower
• sunflower
• wallflower
• watchtower