defilade
Americannoun
verb (used with object)
noun
-
protection provided by obstacles against enemy crossfire from the rear, or observation
-
the disposition of defensive fortifications to produce this protection
verb
Etymology
Origin of defilade
First recorded in 1820–30; from French défil(er), originally, “to unthread” (equivalent to dé- negative prefix + (en)filer “to thread,” ultimately from Latin fīlum “thread”) + French -ade noun suffix denoting action or process; see dis- 1, -ade 1
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.
See Examples For:
The U.S. bases would have the advantage of North America's finest defilade if enemy missiles should fall short: the Alaska Range, topped by Mount McKinley, at 20,270 ft.
From Time Magazine Archive
But the Bee took its toll: foundering on defilade, 13-year-old Cynthia Kertos of Cleveland wept.
From Time Magazine Archive
Luckily, they soon got under some excellent defilade, but not until they had suffered heavily.
From War in the Garden of Eden by Roosevelt, Kermit
This position commanded Fort Sanders, so that it now became necessary to defilade the fort.
From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 18, No. 105, July 1866 by Various
In its construction the principles of defilade have been completely ignored.
From The Story of the Malakand Field Force An Episode of Frontier War by Churchill, Winston
The fire seemed to drop from half the points of the compass towards that one small strip of sand, so marvellously well defiladed by nature that nine-tenths of the shot fell harmlessly into the sea.
From Gallipoli Diary, Volume I by Hamilton, Ian, Sir
At Sedd-el-Bahr, the first houses are empty, being open to the fire of the Fleet, but the best part of the other houses are defiladed by the ground and a month ago they were held.
From Gallipoli Diary, Volume I by Hamilton, Ian, Sir
It was impossible to keep defiladed from Turkish observation, but we did not supply them with much in the way of a target.
From War in the Garden of Eden by Roosevelt, Kermit
Dead ground; defiladed from inland batteries; deep water right close to the shore!
From Gallipoli Diary, Volume I by Hamilton, Ian, Sir
Our chances of defilading these hillside cave openings are not good.
From Time Magazine Archive
While your advance companies move ahead, the battalion commander follows with his formed companies, defilading them as much as possible.
From Battle Studies by Ardant du Picq, Charles Jean Jacques Joseph
The Colonel had arms taken at once and disposed the regiment north of the road which, being elevated, provided sufficient cover for defilading the men.
From Battle Studies by Ardant du Picq, Charles Jean Jacques Joseph
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
