breastwork

[ brest-wurk ]

noun

, Fortification.

1. a defensive work, usually breast high.

breastwork

/ ˈbrɛstˌwɜːk /

noun

1. fortifications a temporary defensive work, usually breast-high Also calledparapet

Word History and Origins

Origin of breastwork¹

First recorded in 1635–45; breast + work

Example Sentences

My station was on the right of the line, where the breastwork, ending in a redoubt, was steep and high.

From Project Gutenberg

Our camp was enclosed with a solid wall of the dead—a bulwark, a breastwork, of corpses, you may say.

From Project Gutenberg

I found the reserves had thrown up a breastwork from the Ohio 348 to the Kanawha, thus inclosing the camp on the Point.

From Project Gutenberg

He was on the crest of the hill, and at every lull in the strife his men piled the loose stones into a rude breastwork.

From Project Gutenberg

They move upon the run,—up to the breastwork of rails,—bearing Hancock's line to the top of the ridge,—so powerful their momentum.

From Project Gutenberg

Related Words

• bulwark
• citadel
• fortress
• mainstay
• stronghold