abatis

American  

[ab-uh-tee, -tis, uh-bat-ee, uh-bat-is] / ˈæb əˌti, -tɪs, əˈbæt i, əˈbæt ɪs /

noun

plural

abatis, abatises

1. an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.

2. a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.

---

abatis British  

/ ˈæbətiː, ˈæbətɪs /

noun

1. a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards

2. a barbed-wire entanglement before a position

---

Etymology

Origin of abatis

1760–70; < French; Old French abateis < Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre ( abate )

Example Sentences

The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and a line of earthworks manned by Brig.

From Washington Post • Sep. 17, 2021

An abatis should be protected from artillery fire, which is sometimes done by placing it in a shallow excavation with the earth thrown up in front of it.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

It may be an entanglement, an abatis, an inundation: anything that will check the rush and make him move slowly.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 10, Slice 6 "Foraminifera" to "Fox, Edward" by Various

The enemy had availed themselves of these natural defences, in the arrangement of extensive outworks, with redoubts strengthened by abatis; field-works mounted with cannon, and trees cut down and left with the branches pointed outward.

From The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving For Young Persons and for the Use of Schools by Irving, Washington

Some weeks before, a French officer named Hugues had suggested the defence of this ridge by means of an abatis.

From Historic Handbook of the Northern Tour by Parkman, Francis