turf war
A fight or confrontation between two divisions or parties for access to resources or capital.
Meaning adapted from Wiktionary, available under CC BY-SA 4.0.
“The two departments are having a turf war over the new office space.”
“The two neighbors start a turf war over the shared driveway.”
“The siblings have a turf war over the biggest bedroom.”
“The sales and marketing teams are in a constant turf war over which group controls the budget for social media ads.”
“Local street food vendors are caught in a turf war regarding who has the right to park their trucks near the park entrance.”
“The IT department and the operations team are locked in a turf war about who manages the new server hardware.”
“What began as a minor disagreement between the two regional managers quickly escalated into a bitter turf war that threatened the stability of the entire organization.”
disputed origin
The phrase is said to be a reference to the game of American football, where opposing teams confront one another on a field of grass or turf. While it is a popular theory for the origin of the term, the connection remains unproven.
- 01
pissing war
An immature dispute over some trivial matter.
- 02
tug of war
A dispute between two parties, particularly an entrenched, back-and-forth dispute.
- 03
war bride
A company or individual whose business is increased by warfare.
- 04
war of nerves
Warfare characterized by psychological manipulation, involving tactics intended to demoralize, frighten, and unnerve opponents in order to prompt surrender.
- 05
war of words
A heated exchange of threatening or inflammatory statements.
- 06
win the battle, but lose the war
To achieve a portion of a goal, but fail to achieve the entire goal.
Last updated August 10, 2026