fortress

American  

[fawr-tris] / ˈfɔr trɪs /

noun

fortresses plural

1. a large fortified place; a fort or group of forts, often including a town; citadel.

2. any place of exceptional security; stronghold.

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fortress British  

/ ˈfɔːtrɪs /

noun

1. a large fort or fortified town

2. a place or source of refuge or support

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verb

1. (tr) to protect with or as if with a fortress

Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• fortresses
  plural

Etymology

Origin of fortress

1300–50; Middle English forteresse < Old French < Vulgar Latin *fortaricia (compare Medieval Latin fortalitia ), equivalent to Latin fort ( is ) strong + -ar-, formative of uncertain meaning +- icia -ice

Explanation

A fortress is a large building or complex of buildings used as a military stronghold. In a military sense, a fortress is often called a “fort." From its original sense of stronghold, the word fortress has stretched to include strongholds in a more figurative sense. Martin Luther used fortress to describe unfailing spiritual support when he wrote, “A mighty fortress is our God.” When someone has a hard time trusting others, you might say they have retreated to a "fortress of their own making."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

fortress fortresses

Held each year on 14 July, the national holiday marks the storming of the Bastille fortress in 1789, a key event from the French Revolution.

From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026

Minutes earlier, the players paraded around Azteca Stadium — traditionally an impenetrable fortress — to applaud El Tri fans with tears in their eyes.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 12, 2026

The altitude has helped turn the Azteca into a fortress for El Tri, which has lost just two competitive matches there since the stadium opened in 1966—and none in the past decade.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 5, 2026

At the archaeological ruins of Nisa, an ancient fortress near the capital, Ashgabat, AFP spotted a Western tour group taking advantage of this tentative thaw.

From Barron's ● Jun. 23, 2026

The fortress stood on a high bluff on a sharp curve of the river about 50 miles north of New York City.

From "George Washington, Spymaster" by Thomas B. Allen

Two medieval fortresses face each other across the Narva River, separating Estonia from Russia on Europe's eastern edge.

From Barron's ● Feb. 6, 2026

The fortresses around the turquoise waters of Singapore’s only sand beaches are now abandoned, but a string of British officer’s barracks in the island’s lush interior have been put to new use.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 27, 2025

In addition to identifying forts similar to the walled fortresses Poidebard found, the team identified forts with interior architecture features and ones built around a mounded citadel.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 27, 2023

Rather than create fortresses that inspire dread, many beloved grocery chains have fashioned their stores into attractive destinations where superfan customers spend significant time and money.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 9, 2023

The vendor ladies squatted, scowling, resting their chins on their crossed arms, behind fortresses of stacked kola nuts, bundles of fragrant sticks, piles of charcoal, salvaged bottles and cans, or displays of dried animal parts.

From "The Poisonwood Bible" by Barbara Kingsolver

Related Words

• barrier
• citadel
• garrison
• rampart