bulwark

[ bool-werk, -wawrk, buhl- ]

/ ˈbʊl wərk, -wɔrk, ˈbʌl- /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bulwark ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.

any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance: The new dam was a bulwark against future floods.

any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt: Religion was his bulwark.

Usually bulwarks. Nautical. a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of a weather or main deck for the protection of persons or objects on deck.

verb (used with object)

to fortify or protect with a bulwark; secure by or as if by a fortification.

Nearby words

bullycide, bullyrag, bulnbuln, bulrush, bultmann, bulwark, bulwer, bulwer-lytton, bum, bum around, bum bag

Origin of bulwark

1375–1425; late Middle English bulwerk, probably < Middle Dutch bolwerc, equivalent to bol(l)e bole¹ + werk work (noun); cf. boulevard

SYNONYMS FOR bulwark

3 support, buttress, mainstay.

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR bulwark ON THESAURUS.COM

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2019

Examples from the Web for bulwark

The German Panzers fought with suicidal ferocity, storming the hill until it was rimmed with a bulwark of bodies.
The Deadly Trap Behind D-Day’s Beaches|Clive Irving|June 5, 2014|DAILY BEAST
First, however weak the court may be as a bulwark against majoritarian tyranny, it is better than no bulwark at all.
Will This Man Make Gay Marriage Legal Everywhere?|Stuart Taylor, Jr.|February 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
What we most wanted in a policy was a bulwark against financial devastation from a catastrophic illness.
Obamacare May Be Dangerous to Your Health|Richard Woodward|November 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST
When a warrior is gone, that will be his best and only bulwark.
Seamus Heaney, 1939-2013: Accessible, Yes, and Beautiful|Jimmy So|August 30, 2013|DAILY BEAST

Iran and Hezbollah, both Shiite, see Assad as a bulwark against Sunni influence.
Syria’s Bashar Al-Assad is Winning|Mike Giglio|May 17, 2013|DAILY BEAST
A slight figure could be seen immediately above the bulwark on the land side.
Lochinvar|S. R. Crockett
One bulwark of their faith, as they had been often told, passive obedience, was being swept away.
The Anglo-French Entente in the Seventeenth Century|Charles Bastide
They have been the bulwark of Christendom against the unspeakable Turk and his religion.
Birdseye Views of Far Lands|James T. Nichols
The devil has a great advantage against us, inasmuch as he has a strong bastion and bulwark against us in our own flesh and blood.
Dictionary of Quotations from Ancient and Modern, English and Foreign Sources|James Wood
A portion yet remained fixed on the rock, and now and then we could still see the group crouching behind the bulwark.
Studies in the Art of Rat-catching|H. C. Barkley

British Dictionary definitions for bulwark

bulwark

/ (ˈbʊlwək) /

noun

a wall or similar structure used as a fortification; rampart

a person or thing acting as a defence against injury, annoyance, etc

(often plural) nautical a solid vertical fencelike structure along the outward sides of a deck

a breakwater or mole

verb

(tr) to defend or fortify with or as if with a bulwark

Word Origin for bulwark

C15: via Dutch from Middle High German bolwerk, from bol plank, bole 1 + werk work

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