Revolutionary War

American  

noun

1. American Revolution.

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Revolutionary War Cultural  

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.)

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Etymology

Origin of Revolutionary War

1790–1800;

Example Sentences

Once the Revolutionary War commenced, and for years after, America’s merchant marine fleet was targeted by pirates of every stripe.

From Barron's • Jun. 5, 2026

However, Davis also described the area as having “an independent streak that goes back to the post Revolutionary War period in Kentucky.”

From Slate • May 19, 2026

“We’ve been through a Revolutionary War, a Civil War, two world wars, and two depressions,” Harden said.

From Salon • May 15, 2026

Rick Atkinson’s “The British Are Coming,” about the Revolutionary War, is beautifully written and started off with a bang, but soon the accounts of battles, with their obligatory suffering and death, became too much.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 17, 2026

Membership was confined to women with at least one ancestor who had aided the cause of the Revolutionary War.

From "The Voice That Challenged a Nation: Marian Anderson and the Struggle for Equal Rights" by Russell Freedman