Yorktown

American

[yawrk-toun] / ˈjɔrkˌtaʊn /

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

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Yorktown

The many fronts, Warren explained, overextended the British army and navy and prevented reinforcements from reaching Gen. Charles Cornwallis, who was hemmed in at Yorktown and would soon surrender to combined American and French forces.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 26, 2026

The only thing that vaguely approached an act of lèse-majesté against the head of the House of Windsor was the attendance of Mark Collins, the pastor of the First Baptist Church in Yorktown, Texas.

From Slate ● Apr. 28, 2026

About the author: Joseph Epstein is director of the Turan Research Center and senior fellow at the Yorktown Institute.

From Barron's ● Oct. 24, 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

American and French soldiers travel to Yorktown, where French warships close the trap on British troops.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

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