bastion

American  

[bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn] / ˈbæs tʃən, -ti ən /

noun

• bastions
  plural

1. Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.

2. a fortified place.

   Synonyms:

   citadel, stronghold, bulwark, fort, fortress

3. anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc..

   a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.

---

bastion British  

/ ˈbæstɪən /

noun

1. a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall

2. any fortified place

3. a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc

   the last bastion of opposition

---

Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• bastionary
  adjective
• bastioned
  adjective

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• bastions
  plural

---

Etymology

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 baste ¹) + -one augmentative suffix

---

Explanation

When the battle is getting long and the odds are getting longer, retreat to your bastion to regroup and prepare for the next round of fighting. A bastion is a stronghold or fortification that remains intact. French Independence Day, or Bastille Day (July 14), commemorates the storming in 1789 of the French king's prison/fort, the Bastille. Bastion and Bastille share the root bast, which means "build." Bastion can refer to any place to which one turns for safety; that can include not only buildings but also concepts, ideas, and even beliefs. The Church, for example, is a bastion of many religious beliefs.

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

bastion bastions

Home prices in America have changed dramatically over the last century — but the Midwest has remained a bastion of affordability through it all.

From MarketWatch ● Aug. 22, 2026

This is Liverpool, the supposed bastion of stability.

From BBC ● May 30, 2026

On Monday it won a sweeping victory in state elections in West Bengal, India’s fourth most populous state, long regarded as an opposition bastion beyond the BJP’s grasp.

From The Wall Street Journal ● May 6, 2026

An AFP correspondent heard explosions as the state-run National News Agency reported strikes on the area, a Hezbollah bastion that has largely emptied of residents since war erupted last month.

From Barron's ● Apr. 3, 2026

The Austrians at the Hotel of Bees use a crane to lower an 88-millimeter cannon onto a bastion in the ramparts.

From "All the Light We Cannot See" by Anthony Doerr

Leo's predecessor Francis largely overlooked many of Europe's traditional bastions of Catholicism where, like Spain, religious observance has been falling rapidly.

From Barron's ● Jun. 6, 2026

But in West Bengal and Tripura - once the great bastions of Left power - the communists have been reduced to a shadow of their former self.

From BBC ● May 26, 2026

With record-keeping fees under pressure, he said in an interview that managed accounts are “one of the last bastions of good revenue production,” adding that record-keepers “love” participants enrolling because “the revenue is much better.”

From MarketWatch ● Feb. 20, 2026

Yet many of his strongest bastions of support lie in central Brooklyn, according to voting and donation records.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025

By 1906, even the best-guarded political bastions had been stormed—twenty-nine seats in Parliament had fallen to the Labour Party—sending spasms of anxiety through English high society.

From "The Gene" by Siddhartha Mukherjee

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---

Related Words

• bulwark
• citadel
• fortress
• mainstay
• stronghold

---