bulwark

[ bool-werk, -wawrk, buhl- ]

noun

1. a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.
2. any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance:

   The new dam was a bulwark against future floods.

3. any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt:

   Religion was his bulwark.

   Synonyms: mainstay, buttress, support

4. Usually bulwarks. Nautical. a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of a weather or main deck for the protection of persons or objects on deck.

verb (used with object)

1. to fortify or protect with a bulwark; secure by or as if by a fortification.

bulwark

/ ˈbʊlwək /

noun

1. a wall or similar structure used as a fortification; rampart
2. a person or thing acting as a defence against injury, annoyance, etc
3. often plural nautical a solid vertical fencelike structure along the outward sides of a deck
4. a breakwater or mole

verb

1. tr to defend or fortify with or as if with a bulwark

Word History and Origins

Origin of bulwark¹

1375–1425; late Middle English bulwerk, probably < Middle Dutch bolwerc, equivalent to bol ( l ) e bole ¹ + werk work (noun); boulevard

Word History and Origins

Origin of bulwark¹

C15: via Dutch from Middle High German bolwerk , from bol plank, bole ¹+ werk work

Example Sentences

In some communities, where many residents have pushed back on scientifically-proven measures like mask-wearing, local reporters have been one of the only bulwarks for the truth.

From Time

If just one of the Republicans win, the GOP will have a bulwark to Democratic control.

From Washington Post

To do that, they need to win in states like Iowa and Montana and Georgia and South Carolina, which could be the bulwark if Democrats knock off Republicans in Arizona and Colorado and North Carolina and Maine.

From Washington Post

So it’s logical to worry that by creating a huge distortion in the credit markets, the Fed could trigger a backlash from another bulwark of the economy that’s damaged by artificially low rates.

From Fortune

To Corey, at the Fred Hutchinson, the involvement of large multinationals like AstraZeneca and Merck is likely to act as a bulwark against the politicization of vaccine research and supplies.

From MIT Technology Review

The German Panzers fought with suicidal ferocity, storming the hill until it was rimmed with a bulwark of bodies.

From The Daily Beast

And if they do, that will serve as a further bulwark against a return to bloc-to-bloc dynamics.

From The Daily Beast

First, however weak the court may be as a bulwark against majoritarian tyranny, it is better than no bulwark at all.

From The Daily Beast

What we most wanted in a policy was a bulwark against financial devastation from a catastrophic illness.

From The Daily Beast

When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.

From The Daily Beast

Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead—a bulwark, a breastwork, of corpses, you may say.

From Project Gutenberg

John Ward seized Patricia from behind, holding her by her arms as a bulwark against our lead.

From Project Gutenberg

Right at the crown of the battlement stood a figure in armor, and behind the bulwark was the noise of struggle.

From Project Gutenberg

Before I could say a word, or move forward to seize him, he sprang on the bulwark and deliberately threw himself into the sea.

From Project Gutenberg

The lower part of the river—the Fleet—was tidal, and formed the western bulwark of London for centuries.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bastion
• fortress
• mainstay
• redoubt