fort
[fawrt, fohrt]
- 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.
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- hold the fort,
- to defend one's position against attack or criticism.
- to maintain the existing state of affairs.
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Origin of fort
1550–60; < Middle French, noun use of adj. fort strong < Latin fortis
fort.
- fortification.
- fortified.
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Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2018
Related Words
fortificationcampstationfastnesscastlegarrisonfortresscitadelacropolisblockhouseredoubtExamples from the Web for fort
Contemporary Examples
And on Nov. 22, 1963, President Kennedy was offered an “Open Road” by the city of Fort Worth, as was its tradition.
My choice is that it should be required reading by those who run the city of Fort Lauderdale, Florida.
Take the case of Herx v. Diocese of Fort Wayne, an employment discrimination suit in the Seventh Circuit.
On November 4, the Fort Hall Shoshone-Bannock tribes announced their opposition to Yellowstone delisting.
The next day the whole raid force piled into a windowless conference room at Fort Campbell.
Historical Examples
His loss before the fort was about one hundred and fifty men.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis MarionWilliam Dobein James
They were soon after married, and he resigned his command at the fort.
A Sketch of the Life of Brig. Gen. Francis MarionWilliam Dobein James
My object then was, to do, what I actually did do the morning I accompanied you to the Fort.
RidgewayScian Dubh
A regiment which had left Fort Colburne was said to be on the road to reinforce them.
RidgewayScian Dubh
Thus the garrison of the fort received a needed reinforcement.
The Story of the Malakand Field ForceSir Winston S. Churchill
fort
- a fortified enclosure, building, or position able to be defended against an enemy
- hold the fort informal to maintain or guard something temporarily
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Word Origin
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
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Word Origin and History for fort
n.
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)).
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Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2010 Douglas Harper
Idioms and Phrases with fort
fort
see hold the fort.
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The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary
Copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.