war power

noun

Updated on: 17 Apr 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

The war powers act has never been tested in the Supreme Court.

— Fox News, "What does the US accomplish by striking Syria?," 13 Apr. 2018
For the first time on a war powers matter, the senators used a provision known as a privileged resolution that allowed them to force the measure despite objections.

— NBC News, "Senate blocks war powers resolution for Yemen," 20 Mar. 2018
On the subject of the war powers, in 1789, Mr. Madison wrote to Thomas Jefferson that: The constitution supposes, what the History of all Govts demonstrates, that the Ex.

— charles p. pierce, Esquire, "Blame This Congress, Shame This Congress," 18 Jan. 2018
The elimination of German, Japanese and Italian war power means the unconditional surrender by Germany, Italy, and Japan.

— meredith hindley, Time, "Allied Leaders at Casablanca: The Story Behind a Famous WWII Photo Shoot," 16 Jan. 2018
But Republican and Democratic leaders have been reluctant to take up the issue, wary of having to explain a vote granting the president war powers to constituents in a war-weary nation.

— sheryl gay stolberg, New York Times, "Senate Rejects Bipartisan Effort to End 9/11 Military Force Declaration," 13 Sep. 2017
The questions about Trump's interpretation of his war powers range beyond conventional counterterrorism operations.

— author: charlie savage, Alaska Dispatch News, "Lawmakers to revisit 9/11 law authorizing ever-expanding war," 29 Oct. 2017
That’s when Foreign Relations committee members – including Flake – will question Secretary of State Rex Tillerson and Secretary of Defense Jim Mattis at a hearing about war powers and congressional authorization to use military force.

— francine kiefer, The Christian Science Monitor, "They say Trump's a danger. So what can they do about it?," 28 Oct. 2017
In a letter last week to Defense Secretary Jim Mattis and Attorney General Jeff Sessions, the ACLU said those war powers cannot be stretched to cover the current battle against the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria.

— deb riechmann, miamiherald, "ACLU challenges detention of American ‘John Doe’ captured in Syria," 5 Oct. 2017

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.