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

The Gophers men’s basketball team is back on its us-against-the-Big Ten war cry. —Andy Greder, Twin Cities, 21 Feb. 2025

There are echoes of the far right in his war cries. —David Moscrop, TIME, 12 Jan. 2025

Stephen Schwartz immediately knew what to do and added Idina’s Elphaba war cry and interplay of pushing each other out of the way. —Rebecca Rubin, Variety, 23 Nov. 2024

Stephen Schwartz sort of gave me the permission to find my own war cry. —Mark Olsen, Los Angeles Times, 21 Nov. 2024

Word History

First Known Use

1748, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for war cry

• apply
• awry
• belie
• bely
• bigeye
• bonsai
• buckeye
• comply
• coxae
• decry
• defy
• deny

Kids Definition

war cry

noun

: a cry or yell used by fighters in battle