war-gamed; war-gaming; war-games
: to plan or conduct in the manner of a war game
war-gamed an invasion—
Newsweek
Newsweek
: to conduct a war game
1
: a simulated battle or campaign to test military concepts and usually conducted in conferences by officers acting as the opposing staffs
2
: a two-sided umpired training maneuver with actual elements of the armed forces participating
Examples of war-game in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the WebJacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2023
The West needs to be war-gaming scenarios to avoid future conflicts and seeking out measures to blunt Russia’s attempts to weaken its societies and the international order.
—Bob Seely, Foreign Affairs, 24 Nov. 2023
Experts for the Center for a New American Security think tank, whose research includes war-gaming possible conflicts using realistic scenarios and unclassified information, played the red team.
—Ellen Knickmeyer, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2023
By June, however, Space Force and its Combatant Command, U.S. Space Command, were recruiting tech-smart people; coordinating with international allies; deciding which technologies to buy; and running war-game simulations in which teams attack, counterattack and outthink one another.
—Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2020
Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024
North Korea had ramped up missile launches in protest at the joint US-South Korea war games, firing submarine missiles ahead of the exercises.
—Jonny Hallam, CNN, 19 Mar. 2023
Her images capture the rising smoke of artillery fire and bolts of lights descending from air bombs during war games, barracks scrawled in faux Arabic to mimic scenes in the field, and young soldiers role-playing — some American heroes, others enemy insurgents.
—Dan Q. Dao, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
Key elements that shaped the counteroffensive and the initial outcome include:
● Ukrainian, U.S. and British military officers held eight major tabletop war games to build a campaign plan.
—Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023
This is why war games do not predict the future but can shape it.
—Jacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2023
The Rafael Peralta’s radar had picked up three more Chinese ships, and, while crew members monitored their instruments, a kind of long-distance war game ensued.
—Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
These scenarios—which should include various flash points on the first island chain and beyond, not just those pertaining to Taiwan—could form the basis for evaluating and refining promising defense plans through war games, simulations, and field exercises.
—Andrew F. Krepinevich, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
In armed conflicts, the generals study the psychology of the opponents, and their staffs generate military moves by practicing war games.
—Ram Charan, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023
Verb
In one instance, a group convened for three straight days at Camp David in Maryland to war-game a scenario that foreshadowed the Berlin crisis of 1961.
—Jacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2023
The West needs to be war-gaming scenarios to avoid future conflicts and seeking out measures to blunt Russia’s attempts to weaken its societies and the international order.
—Bob Seely, Foreign Affairs, 24 Nov. 2023
Experts for the Center for a New American Security think tank, whose research includes war-gaming possible conflicts using realistic scenarios and unclassified information, played the red team.
—Ellen Knickmeyer, Chicago Tribune, 22 Apr. 2023
By June, however, Space Force and its Combatant Command, U.S. Space Command, were recruiting tech-smart people; coordinating with international allies; deciding which technologies to buy; and running war-game simulations in which teams attack, counterattack and outthink one another.
—Ann Finkbeiner, Scientific American, 1 Nov. 2020
Noun
But in the face of wavering Western support for Ukraine and an uncertain U.S. election, the alliance has been using these war games to suss out and strengthen its shortfalls.
—Anna Mulrine Grobe, The Christian Science Monitor, 19 Mar. 2024
North Korea had ramped up missile launches in protest at the joint US-South Korea war games, firing submarine missiles ahead of the exercises.
—Jonny Hallam, CNN, 19 Mar. 2023
Her images capture the rising smoke of artillery fire and bolts of lights descending from air bombs during war games, barracks scrawled in faux Arabic to mimic scenes in the field, and young soldiers role-playing — some American heroes, others enemy insurgents.
—Dan Q. Dao, CNN, 29 Feb. 2024
Key elements that shaped the counteroffensive and the initial outcome include:
● Ukrainian, U.S. and British military officers held eight major tabletop war games to build a campaign plan.
—Washington Post Staff, Washington Post, 4 Dec. 2023
This is why war games do not predict the future but can shape it.
—Jacquelyn Schneider, Foreign Affairs, 26 Dec. 2023
The Rafael Peralta’s radar had picked up three more Chinese ships, and, while crew members monitored their instruments, a kind of long-distance war game ensued.
—Dexter Filkins, The New Yorker, 14 Nov. 2023
These scenarios—which should include various flash points on the first island chain and beyond, not just those pertaining to Taiwan—could form the basis for evaluating and refining promising defense plans through war games, simulations, and field exercises.
—Andrew F. Krepinevich, Foreign Affairs, 12 Dec. 2023
In armed conflicts, the generals study the psychology of the opponents, and their staffs generate military moves by practicing war games.
—Ram Charan, Fortune, 12 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'war-game.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near war-game
Cite this Entry
“War-game.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/war-game. Accessed 17 Apr. 2024.
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