War refers to organized, large-scale, armed conflict between countries or between national, ethnic, or other sizeable groups, usually involving the engagement of military forces. It commonly describes a particular conflict of this kind, instruments of war, and armed forces, which gives the term a broader and more practical sense than a single short definition would suggest. Depending on context, it can also point to a particular card game for two players, notable for having its outcome predetermined by how the cards are dealt, to engage in conflict (may be followed by "with" to specify the foe), and to carry on, as a contest; to wage, so the category can cover literal uses, related ideas, and more figurative extensions of the same core meaning. Taken together, these meanings present War as a flexible theme rather than a narrowly technical label, covering the central idea people usually mean when they use the word while still leaving room for closely related senses that appear in real language. War therefore works well as a quotation category because it can hold direct statements about the subject, figurative uses that borrow its meaning, and broader reflections that stay anchored to the same central idea. War is not limited to a single rigid definition in ordinary language, and that wider range is part of what makes the category useful for grouping related material without losing the term's main sense.
