bulwark
a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.
any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance: The new dam was a bulwark against future floods.
any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt: Religion was his bulwark.
Usually bulwarks. Nautical. a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of a weather or main deck for the protection of persons or objects on deck.
to fortify or protect with a bulwark; secure by or as if by a fortification.
Origin of bulwark
1Other 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
The German Panzers fought with suicidal ferocity, storming the hill until it was rimmed with a bulwark of bodies.
And if they do, that will serve as a further bulwark against a return to bloc-to-bloc dynamics.
The West Can Ally Against Russia But It Needs Global Cooperation | Bruce Jones | March 26, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTFirst, however weak the court may be as a bulwark against majoritarian tyranny, it is better than no bulwark at all.
Will This Man Make Gay Marriage Legal Everywhere? | Stuart Taylor, Jr. | February 22, 2014 | THE DAILY BEASTWhat we most wanted in a policy was a bulwark against financial devastation from a catastrophic illness.
When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.
Seamus Heaney, 1939-2013: Accessible, Yes, and Beautiful | Jimmy So | August 30, 2013 | THE DAILY BEAST
Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead—a bulwark, a breastwork, of corpses, you may say.
A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, Complete | Mark Twain (Samuel Clemens)John Ward seized Patricia from behind, holding her by her arms as a bulwark against our lead.
A Virginia Scout | Hugh PendexterRight 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 DavisBefore 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 StokerThe 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
/ (ˈbʊlwək) /
a wall or similar structure used as a fortification; rampart
a person or thing acting as a defence against injury, annoyance, etc
(often plural) nautical a solid vertical fencelike structure along the outward sides of a deck
a breakwater or mole
(tr) to defend or fortify with or as if with a bulwark
Origin of bulwark
1Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012
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