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:
If bloodsuckers are your fear, you’d be better off in a dank castle in Transylvania.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 8, 2026
A lush cactus garden is bordered by Elysian Park, completing Fisher’s vision of the castle in the woods, but done in Southern California’s vernacular.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 6, 2026
The Jaecoo 7, pitched to suburbia as an adventure-ready SUV, was launched in January 2025 in the ballroom of a fancy hotel off Windsor Great Park, near King Charles III’s historic castle west of London.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 5, 2026
They considered locations across Europe, before deciding on Scotland after Savannah saw photographs of a castle wedding online.
From BBC ● Oct. 3, 2026
My legs would have carried me over the bridge and up the hill and to the walls of the castle.
From "Rump: The (Fairly) True Story of Rumpelstilskin" by Liesl Shurtliff
It has led people like Liz Humphris, from Bishop's Castle in Shropshire, to limit how much they buy at once to help ends meet.
From BBC ● Oct. 14, 2026
Sir Chris said he had spent the last fortnight trying to reach a resolution between Garvaghy Road residents and the Portadown District Lodge, holding a series of negotiations at Hillsborough Castle.
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
SpaceX’s wireless deal boosts shares of cell tower companies like Crown Castle and American Tower.
From Barron's ● Oct. 9, 2026
As a result, American Tower, Crown Castle and SBA should be well-positioned to capture new rental revenue, according to Rezaei.
From MarketWatch ● Oct. 9, 2026
We stopped at a White Castle on the way down and ate about two dozen hamburgers.
From "Okay for Now" by Gary D. Schmidt
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
The Normans built hundreds of castles which secured their control and projected royal power.
From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026
When he was in his 20s, the Welsh actor Matthew Rhys spent a night at one of the most haunted castles in his home country.
From The Wall Street Journal ● May 11, 2026
They have castles like in the movie Aladdin.
From "Everything Sad Is Untrue" by Daniel Nayeri
Moondra castled Samson with his first ball in international cricket, while Hollard took two balls to induce Kishan into skying a chance.
From BBC ● Jun. 26, 2026
We pick up this Berlin Ruy Lopez from today’s diagram, where Black has just castled long.
From Washington Times ● Mar. 10, 2020
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
Kf1 Qf6, the loss of castling is not a huge blow to White’s position, but Khamrakulov fails to appreciate the dangers lurking in the position.
From Washington Times ● Aug. 29, 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
Anatoly Karpov, the former world champion, was captured on video castling queen's side illegally, moving the rook before the king.
From The Guardian ● Feb. 22, 2013
If Black retires the Bishop from his unsafe position, White permanently prevents Black from castling, which is bound to be fatal in view of the open K file—e.g.
From Chess Strategy by J. Du Mont
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