war cry

noun

plural war cries

1

: a shouted word, phrase, or sound used by a body of fighters before or in battle : battle cry

Yelling and shouting fearsome war cries, the attackers leaped from the ditch, peppering the ramparts with a hail of arrows, spears and stones.

—Brian Jaques

2

: a slogan, catchphrase, or motto that is used especially to rally people to a cause or to rouse people to action : rallying cry

Certainly, the NIMBY war cry is being heard in more than my town. The 2006 Saint Index, … which analyzes attitudes toward real estate development, found that twice as many Americans actively oppose development as support it.

—Katherine Field

Examples of war cry in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Since the right began to use it as a war cry, many progressives have argued that the word is empty, merely a way to attack people of color, feminists, and members of LGBTQ communities without being directly offensive. —Time, 27 June 2023

The single opens with vocals echoing the Warrior Princess’ famous war cry and melts into a rush of bass and techno as the Palestian singer’s voice commands the track. —Charisma Madarang, Rolling Stone, 2 Feb. 2023

Selma is a play on the word selva, which in Portugues translates to jungle, it is also used by the Brazilian military as a war cry. —Sarah Rumpf, Fox News, 10 Jan. 2023

Protesters in cities throughout China were actually chanting Patrick Henry's revolutionary war cry from 1775 this week, as tens of thousands poured into the streets in defiance of the authoritarian regime in Beijing. —William Falk, The Week, 3 Dec. 2022

And at President Biden’s address to the conference, four protesters interrupted his speech, letting out a war cry and holding up a banner calling on the president to declare a climate emergency. —WIRED, 16 Nov. 2022

Clayton, a mountain of an individual, acquits himself well with the war cry. —Nicholas Quah, Vulture, 17 Nov. 2021

One arresting voice comes through like a war cry, all ancient, melismatic syllables in unsettled rhythms. —New York Times, 22 Oct. 2021

One of the scariest experiences involved a large pickup truck pulling dangerously close to her on Highway 17 and its driver rolling down the window to mimic a war cry. —Deepa Fernandes, San Francisco Chronicle, 29 Sep. 2021

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Word History

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Kids Definition

war cry

noun

: a cry or yell used by fighters in battle