limited war

noun

1. a war conducted with less than a nation's total resources and restricted in aim to less than total defeat of the enemy.
2. a war restricted to a relatively small area of the world and involving few warring nations.

limited war

noun

1. a war in which the belligerents do not seek the total destruction of the enemy, esp one in which nuclear weapons are deliberately not used

Word History and Origins

Origin of limited war¹

First recorded in 1935–40