Revolutionary War

noun

1. American Revolution.

Revolutionary War

1. The war for American independence from Britain . The fighting began with the Battle of Lexington and Concord in 1775, and lasted through the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. General George Washington commanded the American forces, assisted by Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold , Horatio Gates, John Paul Jones , and others. The leaders of the British included Charles Cornwallis , John Burgoyne, Thomas Gage, and William Howe, among others. The American cause was greatly aided by French ships and troops and by the presence of the French nobleman and soldier the Marquis de Lafayette . The Treaty of Paris in 1783 officially ended the war. ( See Battle of Bunker Hill and Battle of Saratoga .)

Word History and Origins

Origin of Revolutionary War¹

1790–1800; Americanism

Example Sentences

We see fathers and sons torn apart by the rise of the Revolutionary War, fears of technological innovations, and a rather haphazard discussion between a Black family about how to handle the police.

From Salon

The American Revolutionary War, which we’ve seen co-opted in politics for the last few years, is fought and won in the span of a few seconds.

From Salon

Among their offerings included “Woman of the Century,” a gin-based drink inspired by Simone Veil, a lawyer, politician and Holocaust survivor who spear-headed the law that decriminalized abortion in France; “Amazona,” a tequila, yucca, honey soda, cinnamon and pepper drink based on Sonia Guajajara, activist and the first Minister of Indigenous Peoples in Brazil; and the “Vesper Dolores,” honoring Dolores Jiménez y Muro, a teacher, journalist and poet from the Mexican Revolutionary War.

From Salon

Jones plays Isaac Higgintoot, a member of the American Continental Congress who — appropriately, given his last name — died of dysentery while serving as a captain in the Revolutionary War.

From Los Angeles Times

Once America won the Revolutionary War and became its own nation, it found that it needed even stronger centralized economic policies than previously expected.

From Salon