Yorktown

American

[yawrk-toun] / ˈyɔrkˌtaʊn /

noun

a village in SE Virginia: surrender (October 19, 1781) of Cornwallis to Washington in the American Revolution.

Yorktown British

/ ˈjɔːkˌtaʊn /

noun

a village in SE Virginia: scene of the surrender (1781) of the British under Cornwallis to the Americans under Washington at the end of the War of American Independence

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

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.

Mr. Khatiri is the Yorktown Institute’s vice president for development.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 10, 2026

Washington allegedly carried them while at Valley Forge and Yorktown, site of the 1781 British surrender that cleared the way for the creation of a new nation.

From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025

The Thomas J. Watson Research Center sits on a sprawling campus in Yorktown Heights, N.Y., some 40 miles from Manhattan.

From Barron's • Dec. 10, 2025

He admired the Americans’ battle for independence, befriended George Washington, and came to command Continental troops at the decisive battle of Yorktown.

From Los Angeles Times • May 3, 2025

Nelly and Wash were the orphaned children of Martha’s son Jacky Custis, who died of illness at Yorktown in 1781.

From "In the Shadow of Liberty" by Kenneth C. Davis

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023