rampart
Americannoun
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Fortification.
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a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.
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such an elevation together with the parapet.
-
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anything serving as a bulwark or defense.
- Synonyms:
- guard, barricade, breastwork, fortification
verb (used with object)
noun
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the surrounding embankment of a fort, often including any walls, parapets, walks, etc, that are built on the bank
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anything resembling a rampart in form or function, esp in being a defence or bulwark
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a steep rock wall in a river gorge
verb
Other Word Forms
Conjugated Forms
Present
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has rampartedperfect 3rd person singular
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have rampartedperfect
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am rampartingprogressive 1st person singular
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have been rampartingperfect progressive
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rampartingparticiple
-
has been rampartingperfect progressive 3rd person singular
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rampartssingular 3rd person
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are rampartingprogressive
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is rampartingprogressive 3rd person singular
Past
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had rampartedperfect
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was rampartingprogressive singular
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were rampartingprogressive plural
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had been rampartingperfect progressive
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rampartedsimple
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rampartedparticiple
Future
Etymology
Origin of rampart
1575–85; < Middle French, derivative of remparer, equivalent to re- re- + emparer to take possession of < Provençal amparar ≪ Latin ante- ante- + parāre to prepare
Explanation
If you are building a sand castle and want it to be extra realistic, don’t forget the rampart. This protective wall may not keep the ocean away, but it might intimidate a few hostile hermit crabs. This noun is derived from the French verb remparer, meaning “to fortify,” and dates back to the 16th century. This usually refers to a large defensive wall surrounding a castle, but can be a barrier built along a road or an embankment constructed alongside a river. This word is famously used in the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States: “O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming...”
Vocabulary lists containing rampart
The Vocabulary.com Top 1000
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The Star-Spangled Banner
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"The Cask of Amontillado"
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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.
On top of this base, turf would have been laid to build a rampart about 2 metres high.
From BBC • Apr. 18, 2023
“If this wall breaks, there’s simply no holding back the Java Sea,” said Brinkman, gesturing from the rampart toward the city.
From Seattle Times • Dec. 21, 2017
In the late afternoon, my guide Izabela meets me outside a McDonald’s next to a historic rampart that once was part of the city walls.
From Washington Post • Dec. 1, 2016
The Paramour Mansion stands behind a wrought-iron gate and a rampart of pine trees at the top of a steep hill.
From The Guardian • May 12, 2016
On the inside of the rampart and in the wide crenel between two upthrust merlons.
From "A Clash of Kings" by George R.R. Martin
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.
