bulwark

[ bool-werk, -wawrk, buhl- ]
See synonyms for bulwark on Thesaurus.com
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.

  1. any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt: Religion was his bulwark.

  2. 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.

Origin of bulwark

1
1375–1425; late Middle English bulwerk, probably <Middle Dutch bolwerc, equivalent to bol(l)ebole1 + werkwork (noun); cf. boulevard

Other words for bulwark

Words Nearby bulwark

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use bulwark in a sentence

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

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

    A Virginia Scout | Hugh Pendexter
  • Right at the crown of the battlement stood a figure in armor, and behind the bulwark was the noise of struggle.

    God Wills It! | William Stearns Davis
  • Before I could say a word, or move forward to seize him, he sprang on the bulwark and deliberately threw himself into the sea.

    Dracula | Bram Stoker
  • The lower part of the river—the Fleet—was tidal, and formed the western bulwark of London for centuries.

    Milton's England | Lucia Ames Mead

British Dictionary definitions for bulwark

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

  1. (often plural) nautical a solid vertical fencelike structure along the outward sides of a deck

  2. a breakwater or mole

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

Origin of bulwark

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

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012