circumvallation
noun
the act or process of surrounding a position with a fortification, or circumvallating.
circumvallations
-
pluralof circumvallation.plural
The grammatical form denoting more than one person, place, thing, or idea.
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The ancient Americans knew how to protect every height and every delta formed by the junction of two rivers with redoubts, walls, parapets, fosses, and circumvallations.
From Manners and Monuments of Prehistoric Peoples by N. D'Anvers
These singular circumvallations sometimes enclosed a hundred and fifty acres of ground.
From Personal Narrative of Travels to the Equinoctial Regions of America, During the Year 1799-1804 — Volume 2 by Alexander von Humboldt
A man naturally thinks it will go hard within such august circumvallations.
From The Pocket R.L.S., being favourite passages from the works of Stevenson by Robert Louis Stevenson
The foot of the hill was enclosed by a palisade and a moat; these circumvallations frequently rendered successful assault impossible, and the only recourse open to the attacking force was a protracted siege.
From Women of England by Bartlett Burleigh James
We have his works, but they are like the circumvallations of a Roman camp on the Scottish hillside.
From Dreamthorp A Book of Essays Written in the Country by Alexander Smith
