fortress
Americannoun
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a large fortified place; a fort or group of forts, often including a town; citadel.
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any place of exceptional security; stronghold.
noun
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a large fort or fortified town
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a place or source of refuge or support
verb
Etymology
Origin of fortress
1300–50; Middle English forteresse < Old French < Vulgar Latin *fortaricia (compare Medieval Latin fortalitia ), equivalent to Latin fort ( is ) strong + -ar-, formative of uncertain meaning +- icia -ice
Explanation
A fortress is a large building or complex of buildings used as a military stronghold. In a military sense, a fortress is often called a “fort." From its original sense of stronghold, the word fortress has stretched to include strongholds in a more figurative sense. Martin Luther used fortress to describe unfailing spiritual support when he wrote, “A mighty fortress is our God.” When someone has a hard time trusting others, you might say they have retreated to a "fortress of their own making."
Vocabulary lists containing fortress
Stay Strong: Forc and Fort
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "F"
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Beowulf vocabulary
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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.
Wesley Edens, the co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks, answered a LinkedIn message from a China-born entrepreneur in 2022 that blossomed into a correspondence.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 10, 2026
New Fortress Energy jumped 20% ahead of the opening bell.
From Barron's • Dec. 1, 2025
Held at Petrovaradin Fortress in Serbia's second city, Novi Sad, the festival attracted 200,000 visitors last year.
From BBC • Jun. 13, 2025
The teaser opens with a shot of Corenswet’s Superman making a rough landing, somewhere in the Arctic that isn’t his presumably nearby Fortress of Solitude.
From Salon • Dec. 19, 2024
I walked back from chapel and found Finny in our dormitory, blocking the staircase until the others who wanted to go up sang A Mighty Fortress Is Our God under his direction.
From "A Separate Peace" by John Knowles
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.
