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battlement

American  
[bat-l-muhnt] / ˈbæt l mənt /

noun

  1. Often battlements. a parapet or cresting, originally defensive but later usually decorative, consisting of a regular alternation of merlons and crenels; crenelation.


battlement British  
/ ˈbætəlmənt /

noun

  1. a parapet or wall with indentations or embrasures, originally for shooting through

"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

Other Word Forms

Etymology

Origin of battlement

1275–1325; Middle English batelment < Middle French bataille battlement; see -ment

Explanation

A battlement is an extremely strong wall built to defend a city or castle from enemies while providing cover to defensive troops. The oldest known battlements were constructed in ancient Egypt. During the Middle Ages — and for thousands of years before that — battlements were one of the main defenses during war. They could take the form of separate walls surrounding a city, or be part of a building. In either case, they featured regular gaps or windows called crenels, through which defenders could fire weapons at advancing attackers. Battlement comes from the Old French bastille, "fortress."

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Vocabulary lists containing battlement

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.

He said tanks on one of the Battlement Mesa pads also were emitting occasional odors, so Ursa drained and cleaned them, fixing the problem.

From Washington Times • Oct. 6, 2018

Ursa’s approvals to drill in Battlement Mesa have included numerous conditions of approval by the county and state, and the company has pointed to a long list of measures it is taking to reduce impacts.

From Washington Times • Oct. 6, 2018

Ursa is pursuing a two-phase project to drill more than 100 wells altogether in Battlement Mesa from four pads.

From Washington Times • Oct. 6, 2018

Walter Saunders, 47, had moved his family from Virginia and bought a $91,000 home in Battlement Mesa.

From Time Magazine Archive

The Parapets are frequently ornamented richly, with rectangular foliated panelling, and covered with a Battlement.

From The Seven Periods of English Architecture Defined and Illustrated by Sharpe, Edmund