abatis
Americannoun
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abatis,
plural
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abatises
plural
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an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.
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a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.
noun
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a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards
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a barbed-wire entanglement before a position
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of abatis
1760–70; < French; Old French abateis < Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre ( see abate)
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.
The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and a line of earthworks manned by Brig.
From Washington Post ● Sep. 17, 2021
The ditch is enclosed with an abatis, which, considering the material and means available, is quite an achievement in the art of field fortification.
From Narrative of the March of Co. A, Engineers from Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to Fort Bridger, Utah, and Return May 6 to October 3, 1858 by William P. Seville
The works were strengthened and surrounded by an abatis.
From Vermont A Study of Independence by Rowland E. (Evans) Robinson
The Roxbury road ran through a narrow passage between two bastions of earth, surrounded with a heavy abatis and trous de loup.
From Cardigan by Robert W. (Robert William) Chambers
The encompassment of the fort was attempted, but it was impossible to force through the abatis and other obstacles under the destructive fire of the enemy.
From The Franco-German War of 1870-71 by Count Helmuth
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.
