Phrase guide

edit war

noun · verb · 2 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • ĕd′ĭt wôr′
  • Received-Pronunciation: /ˌɛd.ɪt ˈwɔː/
  • Canada, General-American: /ˌɛd.ɪt ˈwoɹ/
  • Australian: /ˌed.ɪt ˈwoː/
  • New-Zealand: /ˌed.ət ˈwoː/
  • Scotland: /ˌɛd.ɪt ˈwɔɹ/
  • India: /ˌɛɖ.ɪʈ ˈwɔr/
  • Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work where opposing editors continually change the page without discussion.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Qualifier: wiki jargon

Examples

  • As with dinner-table discussions, it is best to avoid editing articles about politics or religion unless one wishes to become entrenched in a perpetual edit war.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

verb

Meaning 2

To engage in an edit war.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: intransitive

Qualifier: wiki jargon

Examples

  • When a dispute arises, it is common to see a page protected to avoid edit warring.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

History

Etymology

From edit + war.

Across languages

Translations

23 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: حَرْب تَحْرِير (ḥarb taḥrīr) — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Chinese Mandarin: 編輯戰 /编辑战 (biānjí zhàn) — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Danish: redigeringskrig — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Finnish: muokkaussota — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Finnish: palautussota — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • French: guerre d'édition — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • German: Edit-War — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • German: Bearbeitungskrieg — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Hindi: संपादन युद्ध (sampādan yuddh) — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Hungarian: szerkesztési háború — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Indonesian: perang suntingan — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Italian: guerra di modifiche — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Japanese: 編集合戦 (henshū gassen) — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Korean: 편집 분쟁 (pyeonjip bunjaeng) — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Polish: wojna edycyjna — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Portuguese: guerra de edições — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Russian: война́ пра́вок (vojná právok) — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Spanish: guerra de ediciones — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Swedish: redigeringskrig — a dispute over the content of a page on a wiki or other editable work
  • Finnish: muokkaussotia — to engage in an edit war
  • Polish: angażować się w wojnę edycyjną — to engage in an edit war
  • Polish: zaangażować się w wojnę edycyjną — to engage in an edit war
  • Swedish: redigeringskriga — to engage in an edit war