war-game

1 of 2

verb

ˈwȯr-ˌgām 

war-gamed; war-gaming; war-games

transitive verb

: to plan or conduct in the manner of a war game

… war-gamed an invasion …

—Newsweek

intransitive verb

: to conduct a war game

war game

2 of 2

noun

1

: a simulated battle or campaign to test military concepts and usually conducted in conferences by officers acting as the opposing staffs

2

: a two-sided umpired training maneuver with actual elements of the armed forces participating

Examples of war-game in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Verb

The findings, authored by Goldman’s U.S. Economics team led by chief economist Jan Hatzius, come as Wall Street is increasingly war-gaming the macroeconomic fallout of the Iran conflict — a crisis that has already prompted Goldman to cut its GDP growth forecast and raise its inflation outlook. —Nick Lichtenberg, Fortune, 26 Mar. 2026

So, in June 2023, the Israelis war-gamed the kind of strike that would ultimately take out the ayatollah, according to Israeli sources. —CBS News, 5 Mar. 2026

Noun

Those jumps come as Beijing has stepped up war games around the independent island and threatened to take control. —Ellen Mitchell, The Hill, 27 Apr. 2026

There have been many war games conducted regarding the Middle East over the last several decades. —Tom Jurkowsky, Baltimore Sun, 25 Apr. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

Verb

1923, in the meaning defined at transitive sense

Noun

1871, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for war-game

• acclaim
• aflame
• airframe
• ballgame
• became
• declaim
• defame
• disclaim
• doorframe
• exclaim
• inflame
• mainframe