blockhouse

American  

[blok-hous] / ˈblɒkˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

blockhouses

1. Military. a fortified structure with ports or loopholes through which defenders may direct gunfire.

2. Also called garrison house.  (formerly) a building, usually of hewn timber and with a projecting upper story, having loopholes for musketry.

3. a house built of squared logs.

4. Rocketry. a structure near a launching site for rockets, generally made of heavily reinforced concrete, for housing and protecting personnel, electronic controls, and auxiliary apparatus before and during launching operations.

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blockhouse British  

/ ˈblɒkˌhaʊs /

noun

1. (formerly) a wooden fortification with ports or loopholes for defensive fire, observation, etc

2. a concrete structure strengthened to give protection against enemy fire, with apertures to allow defensive gunfire

3. a building constructed of logs or squared timber

4. a reinforced concrete building close to a rocket-launching site for protecting personnel and equipment during launching

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Etymology

Origin of blockhouse

1505–15; < Middle Dutch blochuus, equivalent to bloc block + huus house

Example Sentences

It’s a sure sign that greed, not fear, is the current phase of the arc of Mr. McWilliams’s pendulum that nobody can be sure whether these digital blockhouses will ever generate a dollar of profit.

From The Wall Street Journal

Others are posing on the porch of an officer’s house and in front of the blockhouse, which are still on the property.

From Seattle Times

The old launch-pad blockhouses there had a single restroom - for men.

From Washington Times

The old launch-pad blockhouses there had a single restroom — for men.

From Seattle Times

Beyond the beach rise the bluffs where the Germans built their first line of defenses with trenches and blockhouses.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• barricade
• citadel
• fortress
• reinforcement