abatis
Americannoun
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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
In front of our breastwork was a ditch, an abatis and a line of barbed wire entanglement.
From Personal Recollections of the Civil War By One Who Took Part in It as a Private Soldier in the 21st Volunteer Regiment of Infantry from Massachusetts by Stone, James Madison
The works were strengthened and surrounded by an abatis.
From Vermont A Study of Independence by Robinson, Rowland E. (Evans)
Infantry was up most of the night felling trees and building an abatis on the other side of river.
From An Artilleryman's Diary by Jones, Jenkins Lloyd
The soldiers paused while the sappers removed the abatis, during which time they were exposed to a destructive fire, and lost more men than did the Americans in their headlong attack.
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
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.
