POW
Held enemy soldier
POW is an acronym for prisoner of war—a member of the armed forces captured and held by enemy forces during conflict: POW camps, POW exchange.
The term carries connotations of hardship and survival: He spent three years as a POW in Vietnam. (Lowercase pow is an exclamation.)
prisoner
One held by force
- captorOne who seizes another
- campTemporary outdoor shelter site
- detainedHeld against one's will
- internedHeld as prisoner
repatriation · Geneva Convention · MIA · exchange · liberation · barbed wire · interrogation · escape
captive
One held by force
interned · repatriation · Geneva Convention · MIA · exchange · liberation · barbed wire · interrogation · escape · survival
- Military AcronymsAWOL, MIA, KIA, NCO, CO
- war captivesprisoner of war, captured soldier, enemy combatant, internee, escaped prisoner
- War on TerrorOsama bin Laden, IED, Guantanamo, regime change, troop surge
- US MilitaryArmy, Marine Corps, Air Force, Pentagon, West Point
- wartimerationing, war economy, war bonds, war effort, evacuations
- imprisonmentprison, jail, prisoners, cells, captivity
detainee classification
Jailed for ideology
non-combatant · hostage · refugee · concentration camp prisoner
role in capture dynamic
POWcaptor
One who seizes another
jailer · prison guard · camp commandant · interrogator · warden
- POW campDetention site for captured soldiers
- pow wowsIndigenous communal gatherings
- POW flagBanner honoring detained soldiers
- POW releaseFreeing of war captives
- POW exchangeTrading captured military personnel