bastille

[ ba-steel; French bas-tee-yuh ]

/ bæˈstil; French basˈti yə /

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noun, plural bas·tilles

[ba-steelz; French bas-tee-yuh]. /bæˈstilz; French basˈti yə/.

(initial capital letter) a fortress in Paris, used as a prison, built in the 14th century and destroyed July 14, 1789.

any prison or jail, especially one conducted in a tyrannical way.

a fortified tower, as of a castle; a small fortress; citadel.

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Also bas·tile

[ba-steel]. /bæˈstil/.

Origin of bastille

1350–1400; Middle English bastile<Middle French, probably alteration of bastidebastide, with -ile (<Medieval Latin, Latin -īle noun suffix of place) replacing -ide; replacing Middle English bastel<Old French basstel, with -el similarly replacing -ide

Words nearby bastille

bast fiber, basti, Bastia, Bastian, bastide, bastille, Bastille Day, bastinade, bastinado, basting, bastion

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2022

How to use bastille in a sentence

With a fine (if unnoticed) stroke of irony, the bill was signed into law on Bastille Day, July 4.
Snowden Deserves the Medal of Freedom, Not Prosecution|Jay Parini|June 8, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Neither the Bastille nor the Beatles could inspire us to overhaul life itself.
Russell Brand: Not Quite a Messiah|James Poulos|October 28, 2013|DAILY BEAST
The bloody effervescence of the Bastille gave way to Robespierre and then Napoleon; Stalin crushed Trotsky.
You Say You Want a Revolution?|Christopher Dickey|June 23, 2013|DAILY BEAST
Witness a brown cardboard sign held high on Sunday night at the Bastille.
Francois Hollande: France’s Anti-Sarkozy President|Tracy McNicoll|May 7, 2012|DAILY BEAST

Anyone hoping to learn what Bastille Day is all about would do well to start here.
Vive la France!|Andrew Carter|July 14, 2011|DAILY BEAST
Father Griffet, a Jesuit, has communicated to the public the journal of the Bastille, which certifies the dates.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
As for his age, he himself told the apothecary of the Bastille, a little before his death, that he believed he was about sixty.
A Philosophical Dictionary, Volume 1 (of 10)|Franois-Marie Arouet (AKA Voltaire)
For him the world, set spinning on a mad career when the Bastille fell, was moving too slowly again.
The Light That Lures|Percy Brebner
When he left the Bastille, he plotted with his willing mistress his revenge upon her father.
Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 4, Part 3|Various
In 1698, M. de Saint Mars was made governor of the Bastille.
Historical Tales, Vol. 6 (of 15)|Charles Morris

British Dictionary definitions for bastille

Bastille

/ (bæˈstiːl, French bastij) /

noun

a fortress in Paris, built in the 14th century: a prison until its destruction in 1789, at the beginning of the French Revolution

Word Origin for Bastille

C14: from Old French bastile fortress, from Old Provençal bastida, from bastir to build, of Germanic origin; see baste 1

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Cultural definitions for bastille

Bastille

[ (ba-steel) ]

A prison in Paris where many political and other offenders were held and tortured until the time of the French Revolution. It was attacked by workers on July 14, 1789, during the revolution; the prisoners were released, and the building was later demolished.

notes for Bastille

The anniversary of the attack, Bastille Day, is the most important national holiday in France.