bastion
[ bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn ]
/ ˈbæs tʃən, -ti ən /
noun
Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.
a fortified place.
anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc.: a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.
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Origin of bastion
1590–1600; < Middle French < Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí(a) bastion, orig., fortified, built (cognate with Italian bastita, past participle of bastire to build < Germanic; see baste1) + -one augmentative suffix
SYNONYMS FOR bastion
OTHER WORDS FROM bastion
bas·tion·ar·y [bas-chuh-ner-ee] /ˈbæs tʃəˌnɛr i/, adjectivebas·tioned, adjectiveWords nearby bastion
bastille, bastille day, bastinade, bastinado, basting, bastion, bastnaesite, bastogne, bastrop, basuto, basutoland
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2020
Example sentences from the Web for bastion
British Dictionary definitions for bastion
bastion
/ (ˈbæstɪən) /
noun
a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
any fortified place
a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etcthe last bastion of opposition
Word Origin for bastion
C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastille Bastille
Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition
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