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• fort
  fort

  noun

  a strong or fortified place occupied by troops and usually surrounded by walls, ditches, and other defensive works; a fortress; fortification.
• fort.
  fort.

  abbreviation

  fortification.

fort

¹ American  

[fawrt, fohrt] / fɔrt, foʊrt /

noun

• forts
  plural

1. a strong or fortified place occupied by troops and usually surrounded by walls, ditches, and other defensive works; a fortress; fortification.

2. any permanent army post.

3. (formerly) a trading post.

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idioms

1. hold the fort,

   1. to defend one's position against attack or criticism.

   2. to maintain the existing state of affairs.

fort. ² American  

abbreviation

1. fortification.

2. fortified.

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fort British  

/ fɔːt /

noun

1. a fortified enclosure, building, or position able to be defended against an enemy

2. informal to maintain or guard something temporarily

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fort More Idioms  

1. see hold the fort.

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• forts
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fort

First recorded in 1550–60; from Middle French, noun use of adjective fort “strong,” from Latin fortis “strong, tough, hardy”

Explanation

A fort is a place that's made strong and secure enough to be defended during a war. Although it’s usually a military word, you can also make a fort with chairs and a blanket to defend against annoying little siblings. A fort can also be called a fortress or a fortification, although typically a fortress describes a larger structure or a series of structures, while a fort is usually only one. All of these words come from the Latin word fortis for "strong, mighty, or brave.” Traditionally, forts have been strongly defended, with thick stone walls and other elements protecting them from invaders. Today in the US, some forts are simply military bases. Others are simply in the living room.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fort fort. forts

In Welshpool, Powys, cropmarks of a rectangular Neolithic long barrow has been seen that dates back around 5,000 years, while in Conwy new details have been collected of buried Roman buildings at Caerhun Roman fort.

From BBC ● Jul. 24, 2026

They’d soon start building their presidio fort a few miles away, the twin foundations of Spain’s God and empire.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 2, 2026

Flushed and sweating, 31-year-old Annisa Enggracia Fidel runs back and forth to defend her fort from invaders -- hundreds of fellow adults all beating the blues by playing a nostalgic Indonesian children's game.

From Barron's ● Jun. 15, 2026

The Sri Lankan navy ferried the survivors to nearby Galle, famous for its 16th-century Dutch fort.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 10, 2026

Torchbearers, dressed in traditional Montenegrin costume—loose-fitting white pants and shirt and a colorful green vest—lined the isthmus leading out to a well-appointed hotel called the Maestral, which had once been a thirteenth-century medieval fort.

From "Endgame" by Frank Brady

“Got some guys that will meet us in Denver and try to hold fort. We got some rough estimates about when we’ll start to get some of these guys back.”

From Washington Times ● May 19, 2022

“Like all national parks, the Presidio has deferred maintenance. It is, after all, a 19th-century Army fort. We’ve invested in addressing those and the focus of deferred maintenance doesn’t have to postpone other priorities.”

From Washington Times ● Sep. 9, 2021

“I was worried about my husband, but I knew I had to hold down the fort. I had no other options, of course.”

From New York Times ● Oct. 29, 2020

“It’s symbolic to the history of the fort. It’s a patriotic statement on the part of the Friends.”

From Washington Times ● Sep. 25, 2016

“Why don’t you get some shuteye, sonny? Me and Charley’ll hold the fort. Don’t forget the book, Charley.”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck

“We’re still building forts, we’re just doing it at a large scale,” Josh said.

From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 10, 2026

Even if the country was never home to the coastal forts from which the trafficking of African people was organised, many enslaved people passed through it on the way to the New World.

From Barron's ● Feb. 20, 2026

Most of the known Roman remains in Wales are from military camps and forts, while grandiose estates like this are less commonly found.

From BBC ● Jan. 11, 2026

Stretching east to west from the North Sea to the Irish Sea, Hadrian's Wall featured a series of forts and towers placed at regular intervals.

From Science Daily ● Dec. 21, 2025

Caught by surprise, as Falkenhayn had planned, and overwhelmed by the enemy’s numbers and firepower, the French began to fall back as the Germans advanced toward the key forts of Vaux and Douaumont.

From "The War to End All Wars: World War I" by Russell Freedman