war story

noun

: a story of a memorable personal experience typically involving an element of danger, hardship, or adventure

politicians swapping war stories from past campaigns

Did you know?

People have been telling stories about real wars since long before Washington Irving wrote the following in The Legend of Sleepy Hollow: "folks . . . sat smoking at one end of the piazza, . . . drawing out long stories about the war." But today tellers of "war stories" need not have experienced a literal battlefield. Around the middle of the 19th century, "war story" took on a more figurative meaning, and nowadays such accounts can encompass challenges in the workplace, on the campaign trail, in sports, in one's travels . . . wherever difficulties need to be overcome.

Examples of war story in a Sentence

He liked to tell war stories from his life as a sea captain.

We exchanged war stories about our time as interns at the same company.

Recent Examples on the Web

The war stories in particular, despite being well-acted, are an unnecessary melodramatic distraction. —Christopher Arnott, Hartford Courant, 25 June 2025

This was a war story, too—a battle without a victory. —Siddhartha Mukherjee, New Yorker, 16 June 2025

James Jones’s posthumous Whistle could have used some imagination in trying for an original approach to a war story—the contrast with Cacciato is loud and clear. —Alex Vernon may 27, Literary Hub, 27 May 2025

Read more Elon Musk threatens Pentagon leakers after China war story Could Elon Musk step down as Tesla CEO? —Thomas G. Moukawsher, Newsweek, 21 Mar. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1970, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for war story

• aurore
• forbore
• outlawry
• pylori
• savoury
• signori
• signory
• vainglory
• accusatory
• admonitory
• ambulatory
• amendatory

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