rampart

[ram-pahrt, -pert]

noun

1. Fortification.

   1. a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.

   2. such an elevation together with the parapet.

2. anything serving as a bulwark or defense.

   Synonyms: guard, barricade, breastwork, fortification

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with or as if with a rampart.

rampart

/ ˈræmpɑːt /

noun

1. the surrounding embankment of a fort, often including any walls, parapets, walks, etc, that are built on the bank

2. anything resembling a rampart in form or function, esp in being a defence or bulwark

3. a steep rock wall in a river gorge

verb

1. (tr) to provide with a rampart; fortify

Word History and Origins

Origin of rampart¹

1575–85; < Middle French, derivative of remparer, equivalent to re- re- + emparer to take possession of < Provençal amparar ≪ Latin ante- ante- + parāre to prepare

Word History and Origins

Origin of rampart¹

C16: from Old French, from remparer , from _re- + emparer to take possession of, from Old Provençal antparar , from Latin ante before + parāre to prepare

Example Sentences

That same year, with his painstaking production of The Beach Boys’ blockbuster single “Good Vibrations,” Wilson seemed poised to explore even greater musical ramparts.

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Mr Ambekar says that portions of an earthen rampart believed to have been built by the region's first settlers exists even today.

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“We wanted to be outsiders on the ramparts picking off the big shots,” Carter writes.

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Anyone who hopes to preserve the sanctity of the civil-military ideal would do well to circle the wagons of law and constitutionalism and man the ramparts of institutional self-preservation.

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“Most of the people I know are actively deciding whether to go the ramparts or go to the bunker.”

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Related Words

• barricade