fort

[ fawrt, fohrt ]

/ fɔrt, foʊrt /

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR fort ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a strong or fortified place occupied by troops and usually surrounded by walls, ditches, and other defensive works; a fortress; fortification.

any permanent army post.

(formerly) a trading post.

Nearby words

Idioms

hold the fort,

to defend one's position against attack or criticism.
to maintain the existing state of affairs.

Origin of fort

1550–60; < Middle French, noun use of adj. fort strong < Latin fortis

Can be confusedfort forte (see pronunciation note at forte¹)

fort.

fortification.

fortified.

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

Examples from the Web for fort

And on Nov. 22, 1963, President Kennedy was offered an “Open Road” by the city of Fort Worth, as was its tradition.
My Love Letter to the Stetson|Mark McKinnon|December 24, 2014|DAILY BEAST
My choice is that it should be required reading by those who run the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
How Dickens and Scrooge Saved Christmas|Clive Irving|December 22, 2014|DAILY BEAST
Take the case of Herx v. Diocese of Fort Wayne, an employment discrimination suit in the Seventh Circuit.
Catholic Church: Religious Freedom Trumps Civil Rights|Jay Michaelson|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST
On November 4, the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock tribes announced their opposition to Yellowstone delisting.
What It Takes to Kill a Grizzly Bear|Doug Peacock|November 23, 2014|DAILY BEAST

The next day the whole raid force piled into a windowless conference room at Fort Campbell.
I Shot Bin Laden|Elliot Ackerman|November 16, 2014|DAILY BEAST
His fort was destroyed, his men were killed, his settlement was a failure.
The True Story of Christopher Columbus|Elbridge S. Brooks
The upper path returns to the road along the crest of the bank, and a few steps brings the tourist to Fort Clinton.
Guide to West Point, and the U.S. Military Academy|Various
While it was for this tribe that the agency at Fort Snelling was established, yet the Chippewas often frequented its headquarters.
Old Fort Snelling|Marcus L. Hansen
The Fort Riley troops are always called on when there is trouble in the West.
My Native Land|James Cox
In the summer of 1874 baby Theodore was born, and none from Fort Sully came to our annual meeting.
Mary and I|Stephen Return Riggs

British Dictionary definitions for fort

fort

/ (fɔːt) /

noun

a fortified enclosure, building, or position able to be defended against an enemy

hold the fort informal to maintain or guard something temporarily

Word Origin for fort

C15: from Old French, from fort (adj) strong, from Latin fortis

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

Word Origin and History for fort

fort

mid-15c., "fortified place, stronghold," from Middle French fort, from noun use in Old French of fort (adj.) "strong, fortified" (10c.), from Latin fortis "strong, mighty, firm, steadfast," from Old Latin forctus, possibly from PIE root *bheregh- "high, elevated," with derivatives referring to hills and hill-forts (cf. Sanskrit brmhati "strengthens, elevates," Old High German berg "hill;" see barrow (n.2)).

Idioms and Phrases with fort

fort

see hold the fort.

fort

noun

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Nearby words

Idioms

Origin of fort

fort.

Examples from the Web for fort

fort

noun

Word Origin for fort

fort

fort