war power

noun

|Updated on: 23 Jul 2018

Definition of war power

: the power to make war; specifically : an extraordinary power exercised usually by the executive branch of a government in the prosecution of a war

Recent Examples of war power from the Web

Republicans have opposed the idea of a sunset, and the Corker-Kaine measure aims to strike a balance by requiring the administration to submit a new war plan every four years, although the current war powers would stay intact if Congress didn’t act.

— seung min kim, Washington Post, "As Senate plans war powers debate, one liberal Democrat seeks stronger constraints on White House," 16 May 2018
As a result, its completion and disclosure of the new memo, explaining why the Office of Legal Counsel blessed the April 2018 strikes, amounts to its most comprehensive discussion of its understanding of the scope of Mr. Trump’s war powers.

— charlie savage, New York Times, "Trump Had Power to Attack Syria Without Congress, Justice Dept. Memo Says," 1 June 2018
Republican leaders have brushed off concerns about congressional authorization and are reluctant to open a fresh debate on Capitol Hill about the president’s war powers.

— byron tau, WSJ, "Some in Congress Fear White House Will Claim Expanded War Powers After Syria Attack," 18 Apr. 2018
Merkley’s proposal, detailed to The Washington Post in advance of its release, has several key differences from the Corker-Kaine measure unveiled last month that helped break a deadlock in the debate over war powers on Capitol Hill.

— seung min kim, Washington Post, "As Senate plans war powers debate, one liberal Democrat seeks stronger constraints on White House," 16 May 2018
Supporters argue that the measure limits the president's war powers in a way the current, open-ended war authorization does not.

— NBC News, "Congress wrestles with new war on terror authorization," 16 Apr. 2018
For the first time in sixteen years, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee could be close to getting an agreement on a new Authorization for the Use of Military Force that could affect the Trump administration's war powers.

— cnn's capitol hill team, CNN, "Congress returns to Zuckerberg hearing, confirmation fights," 9 Apr. 2018
In Congress, Trump's bellicosity has sped a bipartisan effort to curtail the president's war powers.

— ishaan tharoor, Washington Post, "There’s no stopping the United States’ forever war," 3 May 2018
Ty Cobb prepares to leave the White House; Israel’s parliament gives Netanyahu expanded war powers.

— ella nilsen, Vox, "Vox Sentences: Thanks for the memories, Ty Cobb," 3 May 2018

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