war footing

Definition of war footing

: the condition of being prepared to undertake or maintain war

Examples of war footing in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Kobinger himself thought the WHO’s immediate move to a war footing on the virus — the day after China made its first official report on it on Dec. 31 — was probably an overreaction. — Helen Branswell, STAT, "The months of magical thinking: As the coronavirus swept over China, some experts were in denial," 20 Apr. 2020 When America has been on war footing the government has bought commodities for the purposes of making industries whole. — Josh Siegel, Washington Examiner, "Daily on Energy: Could Treasury be looking at getting into oil speculation?," 20 Mar. 2020 The biggest one-month job loss in history was in September of 1945, when 1.96 million jobs were lost as the US economy shifted from a war footing to a post-war footing. — Matt Egan, CNN, "Coronavirus could spark another Great Depression, former Trump adviser warns," 19 Mar. 2020 Every college and university is on a war footing about this and are trying to assemble as much information as possible. — Teresa Watanabe, Los Angeles Times, "Coronavirus is upending universities: In-person classes canceled, big changes coming," 10 Mar. 2020 The country also remains on a war footing with indefinite universal conscription for the military that has prompted many thousands to flee the country and seek immigration to Europe. — Paul Schemm, Washington Post, "Eritrea breaks silence and responds to Ethiopia peace overtures, will send delegation," 20 June 2018 He and his allies are going on a war footing as Robert S. Mueller III's investigation enters its second year. — Amber Phillips, Washington Post, "As Trump lunches with Senate Republicans, here are their gripes with him," 15 May 2018 Putting the state on war footing, invoking the language of conflict, is a brilliant political strategy. — Eric Levitz, Daily Intelligencer, "Republicans Poised for Collapse in New York," 9 Jan. 2018 But the response of Kim Jung Il was to increase its reliance on military force and put the nation on a war footing for an imminent US invasion. — Philip Bobbitt, Time, "A Way Forward in the North Korea Crisis," 20 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'war footing.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Keep scrolling for more

Learn More about war footing

Dictionary Entries near war footing

Statistics for war footing

Cite this Entry

“War footing.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war%20footing. Accessed 19 Jan. 2021.

WORD OF THE DAY

conjecture

Listen to the pronunciation of conjecture

See Definitions and Examples »

Get Word of the Day daily email!

Test Your Vocabulary

Words of Snow and Ice Quiz

Which of the following refers to thin, bending ice, or to the act of running over such ice?

Test your knowledge - and maybe learn something along the way.

Anagram puzzles meet word search.