declare war

present singular third person declares war · participle present declaring war · participle past declared war · past declared war

1. To make a formal pronouncement, or sign a legal document, that initiates a state of war between one nation and another, usually before hostilities begin.

   Germany declared war on France, who reciprocated, on August 3 [1939], and England declared war on Germany on August 4, when Belgium was already under invasion.

   2007, Carlos Ramirez-Faria, Concise Encyclopaedia of World History

2. figurativelyTo announce one's intention to fiercely combat or eradicate something.

   The governor declared war on poverty.

   1 more example

   Leo Lillard, a Nashville native attending Tennessee State University, had become involved in the sit-ins as soon as they started. It was no longer just the students, it was clear that the town had declared war on racism.

   2011, Henry Hampton, Steve Fayer, Voices of Freedom: An Oral History of the Civil Rights Movement