castle
noun
a fortified, usually walled residence, as of a prince or noble in feudal times.
castle
1 American
[kas-uhl, kah-suhl]
/ ˈkæs əl, ˈkɑ səl /
noun
-
castles
plural
-
a fortified, usually walled residence, as of a prince or noble in feudal times.
-
the chief and strongest part of the fortifications of a medieval city.
-
a strongly fortified, permanently garrisoned stronghold.
-
a large and stately residence, especially one, with high walls and towers, that imitates the form of a medieval castle.
-
any place providing security and privacy.
It may be small, but my home is my castle.
-
Chess. the rook.
verb (used with object)
-
castles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
castled,
past participle, past
-
castling
present participle
-
to place or enclose in or as in a castle.
-
Chess. to move (the king) in castling.
verb (used without object)
Chess.
-
castles,
present (3rd person singular)
-
castled,
past participle, past
-
castling
present participle
-
to move the king two squares horizontally and bring the appropriate rook to the square the king has passed over.
-
(of the king) to be moved in this manner.
Castle
2
American
[kas-uhl, kah-suhl]
/ ˈkæs əl, ˈkɑ səl /
noun
castle
British
/ ˈkɑːsəl /
noun
-
a fortified building or set of buildings, usually permanently garrisoned, as in medieval Europe
-
any fortified place or structure
-
a large magnificent house, esp when the present or former home of a nobleman or prince
-
the citadel and strongest part of the fortifications of a medieval town
-
chess another name for rook 2
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
castlesimple
-
castlessimple
-
have castledperfect
-
has castledperfect
-
am castlingprogressive
-
are castlingprogressive
-
is castlingprogressive
-
have been castlingperfect progressive
-
has been castlingperfect progressive
Past
-
castledsimple
-
had castledperfect
-
was castlingprogressive
-
were castlingprogressive
-
had been castlingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of castle
before 1000; Middle English, Old English castel < Latin castellum castellum
Explanation
A castle is a huge, grand home where a king or queen might live. Almost all castles are also fortified against attacks by enemy armies. Most castles were built in the Middle Ages by royalty or other nobility. You can still visit many historic castles in Europe, most of them built of stone and including details like towers and guardhouses. You can also call the chess piece known as a "rook" a castle, for its castle-like shape. The word has an Old English root, castel, or "village."
Vocabulary lists containing castle
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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.
See Examples For:
Hundreds of volunteers in Japan pulled a castle back to its original position.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
She is the princess, and this is the castle she’ll be locked in, an indomitable beast of a citadel fittingly titled the Tower Hotel.
From Salon ● Aug. 17, 2026
Brisk of step and sharp of mind despite his years and the hot winds that whip the castle, he stood at the foundations of a temple dedicated to Haldi, the warrior god of gods.
From Barron's ● Aug. 10, 2026
After walking around the castle, they later found a fenced-off woodland and lake.
From BBC ● Aug. 5, 2026
At the very back of the castle, the dragon’s tail stuck straight into the air, with the end of the tail forming yet another tower, this one with a lit window at its peak.
From "Half Upon a Time" by James Riley
By comparison, the couple was reportedly paying $24,500 a month in rent for their most recent U.K. dwelling, a royal residence on the grounds of Windsor Castle called Frogmore Cottage.
From MarketWatch ● Aug. 31, 2026
Three bus stops between Castle Street and Frederick Street will also remain closed to reduce congestion, but bus services will run along Princes Street, rather than the current diversion along George Street.
From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026
After his 2018 fairytale Windsor Castle wedding -- watched around the world -- he and Meghan were touted as future monarchy rejuvenators, branded the "fab four" alongside William and Kate.
From Barron's ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Capturing a Queen: The Image of Anne Boleyn,” at Hever Castle & Gardens, Kent, through Jan. 2, 2027, is the art-historical equivalent of a country-house mystery.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 22, 2026
“I am impatient to be gone from here. Spiral Castle has brought me only grief; I have no wish to see it again.”
From "The Book of Three" by Lloyd Alexander
The list also includes five castles in south Lebanon's Jabal Amel area, among them the Crusader-era Beaufort fortress, which Israeli forces captured in May.
From Barron's ● Aug. 29, 2026
Overlooking the River Blackwater, the main house was designed by architects James and George Richard Pain, who also worked on other Irish castles.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 22, 2026
His mum, Gemma McConnell, said he had the time of his life enjoying lemonade and cake and playing in the bouncy castles in his own superhero outfit.
From BBC ● Jun. 30, 2026
When gunpowder arrived and the emerging nation-states rendered obsolete the old art of war dominated by feudal lords entrenched in their castles.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
His enigmatic beauty seemed better suited for dim Gothic chambers and the silence of ruined castles, aristocracy that had cracked around the edges, clothed itself in ivy, and crawled back into the wilderness.
From "The City Beautiful" by Aden Polydoros
The needless run-out of Stoinis for 40 all but confirmed the outcome and there were two further run-outs before Madhwal castled Mohsin Khan to seal an emphatic success midway through the 17th over.
From BBC ● May 24, 2023
Despite the stakes and the opponent, Lee does not appear intimidated — she sacrifices a pawn as Black on Move 4 and forces Krush to weather a nasty-looking kingside pawn storm of her castled king.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 28, 2023
As “Cleanness” moves forward, as if in a game of chess, positions are castled.
From New York Times ● Jan. 13, 2020
Slowly things seemed to be turning Carlsen’s way; the kings were castled on opposite sides of the board, which often means each player will be racing to attack the other’s king.
From Slate ● Nov. 28, 2018
As it turned out, the old man never castled.
From "Snow Falling on Cedars: A Novel" by David Guterson
It looks at first as if Nepo will have trouble finding a place for his king, but it turns out to be perfectly safe after castling long.
From Washington Times ● Apr. 11, 2023
She saved the best for last, castling Kate Cross with another beauty: full and turning just enough to beat the edge as the batter aimed a shot through the leg side.
From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2022
He played aggressively in the opening, eschewing a chance to trade queens early on and also not castling his king, which is the usual method to keep it safe.
From New York Times ● Dec. 6, 2021
Broad hoops an inswinging yorker at Smith, nearly castling him.
From The Guardian ● Aug. 17, 2019
In order to avoid this continuation, White takes his chance of castling on the Queen's side.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
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.
