fortification
Americannoun
-
the act of fortifying or strengthening.
-
something that fortifies or protects.
-
the art or science of constructing defensive military works.
-
Often fortifications. military works constructed for the purpose of strengthening a position; a fort.
Supposedly impregnable, the fortifications were quickly overrun.
- Synonyms:
- bulwark, stronghold, citadel, fortress
-
a strengthening or improvement, as by addition of or intensification with another ingredient.
the fortification of milk with vitamin D; the fortification of wine with alcohol.
noun
-
the act, art, or science of fortifying or strengthening
-
-
a wall, mound, etc, used to fortify a place
-
such works collectively
-
-
any place that can be militarily defended
Other Word Forms
- nonfortification noun
- refortification noun
Etymology
Origin of fortification
1400–50; late Middle English < Late Latin fortificātiōn- (stem of fortificātiō ), equivalent to fortificāt ( us ) fortified ( fortify, -ate 1 ) + -iōn- -ion
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 government's independent advisory body has looked at all the evidence and is satisfied that fortification is the right course of action for society as a whole.
From BBC • Nov. 14, 2024
A forthcoming study, set to launch in summer 2024, will look at iron fortification for children ages 3 to 5.
From Science Daily • Jun. 19, 2024
Cases of spina bifida dropped 31% and anencephaly declined by 16% after the fortification mandate, according to a federal study cited in the journal Teratology.
From Seattle Times • May 15, 2024
He seems enamored of the myth of Masada, the ancient fortification in southern Israel, where, in the 1st century A.D., almost 1,000 rebels battled off Roman invaders.
From Slate • Mar. 26, 2024
Irina Favorskaya was a student at the Moscow Institute of Geology when the war started, and like many other young women her age, she’d spent the summer of 1941 digging fortification trenches.
From "A Thousand Sisters" by Elizabeth Wein
![]()
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.