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

Sally pauses her work as Marty holds court, sharing war stories from his decades as a private eye. —Amanda Whiting, Vulture, 5 Nov. 2025

The prudent way forward ought then to be to read today’s many swirling war stories with greater acuity—or even to learn how to write an altogether different story. —Elizabeth D. Samet, Foreign Affairs, 29 Oct. 2025

The anecdotes and war stories that had infected my early drafts began to disappear from the manuscript. —Literary Hub, 24 Oct. 2025

Hear from veteran filmmakers, writers, and actors who are redefining the narrative by not just telling war stories, but telling their stories. —Matthew Carey, Deadline, 9 Oct. 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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