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.
QUIZZES
IS YOUR DESERT PLANT KNOWLEDGE SUCCULENT OR DRIED UP?
Cactus aficionados, don't get left in the dust with this quiz on desert plants. Find out if you have the knowledge to survive this prickly foray into the desert!
Question 1 of 7
This tall, horizontally branched cactus is probably the most recognizable cactus in Arizona. What is it called?
Origin of bastion
1590–1600; <Middle French <Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí(a) bastion, originally, 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/, adjectivebastioned, 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
© William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins
Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012