Definition of WAR STORY

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

Bourgeois said the shows deliberately cover a wide range, both in time — several are silent movies— and genre, including comedies, dramas, historical films, war stories, science fiction, and even a reality TV show. — Janet Mcconnaughey, The Seattle Times, "New Louisiana Film Trail website; state plans more," 4 Sep. 2018 O'Donnell's focus on the Body Bearers makes The Unknowns stand out from the normal war story. — Ray Locker, USA TODAY, "Gripping 'The Unknowns' follows WWI heroes who buried the Unknown Soldier," 21 May 2018 Here, starting in 1919, a group of working writers and wits including Dorothy Parker and Harold Ross gathered regularly to eat lunch, swap writing-life war stories, and, well, be witty. — Jennifer Larue, The Seattle Times, "Soaking up Manhattan’s literary history: A book lover’s bar-hopping guide," 2 July 2018 Runners greet each other warmly and exchange war stories of past Barkleys. — David G. Allan, CNN, "The infamous murderer's prison escape that inspired a near-impossible ultramarathon," 26 May 2018 Places of entertainment shut down and TV and radio stations air war stories and melancholic music. — Fox News, "Israel, marking annual Memorial Day, comes to a standstill," 17 Apr. 2018 Bob and my husband loved to tell war stories — Bob’s from World War II and my husband’s from Iraq and Afghanistan. — Joy Wallace Dickinson, OrlandoSentinel.com, "Readers recall Buddie’s, fine art and pink chicks," 22 Apr. 2018 Many of the runners hung out for several hours, trading war stories, until buses came to take them to the finish line. — Matt Rocheleau, BostonGlobe.com, "900 Marathon runners receive medical treatment along route," 16 Apr. 2018 Now, O’Rawe avoids going to places like the Felons Club in West Belfast, where IRA veterans drain pints and tell war stories. — Kevin Cullen, BostonGlobe.com, "Irish hopes may be stopped at the border," 8 Apr. 2018

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