the war (1914–18), fought mainly in Europe and the Middle East, in which the Allies (principally France, Russia, Britain, Italy after 1915, and the US after 1917) defeated the Central Powers (principally Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey). The war was precipitated by the assassination of Austria's crown prince (Archduke Franz Ferdinand) at Sarajevo on June 28, 1914 and swiftly developed its major front in E France, where millions died in static trench warfare. After the October Revolution (1917) the Bolsheviks ended Russian participation in the war (Dec 15, 1917). The exhausted Central Powers agreed to an armistice on Nov 11, 1918 and quickly succumbed to internal revolution, before being forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles (June 28, 1919) and other treaties
Also called: First World War, Great War
WordReference Random House Unabridged Dictionary of American English © 2026
World War I,
- Governmentthe war fought mainly in Europe and the Middle East, between the Central Powers and the Allies, beginning on July 28, 1914, and ending on November 11, 1918, with the collapse of the Central Powers. Abbr.: WWI Also called Great War, War of the Nations.
Collins Concise English Dictionary © HarperCollins Publishers::
'World War I' also found in these entries (note: many are not synonyms or translations):
Abdullah
- Aisne
- Aldington
- Alexandra
- Alexandroúpolis
- Allenby
- Allies
- American Expeditionary Forces
- Anzac
- Anzac Day
- Arc de Triomphe
- Ardennes
- Argonne Forest
- Armageddon
- Armentières
- Armistice Day
- Bairnsfather
- Barbusse
- Barker
- Beatty
- Belle Époque, La
- Benedict XV
- Big Bertha
- Big Five
- Bishop
- Blighty
- Blunden
- Boche
- Bonus Army
- British Empire
- Byng
- Cantigny
- Castle walk
- Cavell
- Central Powers
- Charles I
- Cheb
- Chetnik
- Château-Thierry
- Compiègne
- Czechoslovakia
- Dawes
- Dawes plan
- Dedéagach
- Enfield rifle
- Falkenhayn
- Ferdinand I
- First World War
- Foch
- Fokker