Lafayette
Americannoun
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Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier Marquis de. Also 1757–1834, French soldier, statesman, and liberal leader, who served in the American Revolutionary Army as aide-de-camp to General Washington, and took a leading part in the French revolutions of 1789 and 1830.
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a city in S Louisiana.
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a city in W Indiana, on the Wabash River.
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a town in W California.
noun
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Marie Joseph Paul Yves Roch Gilbert du Motier (mari ʒozɛf pɔl iv rɔk ʒilbɛr dy mɔtje), Marquis de Lafayette. 1757–1834, French general and statesman. He fought on the side of the colonists in the War of American Independence and, as commander of the National Guard (1789–91; 1830), he played a leading part in the French Revolution and the revolution of 1830
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Marie-Madeleine (marimadlɛn), Comtesse de Lafayette. 1634–93, French novelist, noted for her historical romance La Princesse de Clèves (1678)
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The railroad and telegraph networks that would tie the country together were still decades away, making it impossible for Lafayette to provide a precise travel itinerary.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Lafayette was 67 when he began his triumphal tour, an age when travel even in the most convenient circumstances can be exhausting.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 4, 2026
Pecan Island is an unincorporated, coastal area of Vermilion Parish with between 100 and 200 permanent residents, according to Michael S. Martin, professor of history at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 25, 2026
When they reached Lafayette Park, where the fencing had yet to be removed, they were again disappointed by the obscured view of the White House.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026
I’ve no idea how long it took us to reach the windy summit of Lafayette other than that it was a double eternity.
From "A Walk in the Woods" by Bill Bryson
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
