proxy war

A war where two powers use third parties as a supplement to, or a substitute for, fighting each other directly.

Noun

  1. A war where two powers use third parties as a supplement to, or a substitute for, fighting each other directly.
    • With the enhanced insurgent firepower and with Russia steadily raising the number of airstrikes against the government’s opponents, the Syrian conflict is edging closer to an all-out proxy war between the United States...

Forms

proxy wars war by proxy

Hypernyms

war