war party

noun

1

: a group of American Indians on the warpath

2

: a usually jingoistic political party advocating or upholding a war

Example Sentences

Recent Examples on the Web

Tribal dancers, a war party waving spears and shrunken head dealer Trader Sam have been removed from the seven-minute Jungle Cruise journey. —Bryan Alexander, USA TODAY, 10 July 2021

Of obscure background, Riothamus (or Riotimus) is mentioned in Roman histories as leading a war party in Brittany, the Celtic province in the north of France, supporting Roman troops in a campaign against the Goths around the year 470. —Jack Feerick, Discover Magazine, 12 Mar. 2021

According to one account, the carnage started when one village sent a war party to raid another. —New York Times, 2 Nov. 2021

Typically, a war party would strike against traditional enemies, bringing back a few scalps and a small number of prisoners. —David Graeber, Harper's Magazine, 26 Oct. 2021

The war party made for Shawnee villages north of the Ohio River, where the girls likely would have been adopted into the tribe or held for ransom. —Peter Cozzens, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2021

After three days of pursuit, Boone and his men stole upon the war party, saved the girls and killed two of the warriors. —Peter Cozzens, WSJ, 27 Sep. 2021

Around 1750, a large Ojibwe war party armed with French guns and powder attacked a Dakota village at Mille Lacs Lake (Bde Wakhang in the Dakota language) from the north. —New York Times, 31 Aug. 2021

Roughly 100 years after the war party’s attack, a Dakota entourage arrived in Mille Lacs bearing a ceremonial gift for the Ojibwe who had conquered them, a shocking kind of grace in the face of grief and loss. —New York Times, 31 Aug. 2021

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Word History

First Known Use

1755, in the meaning defined at sense 1