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

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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

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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

Wall Street Journal reporter Lindsay Ellis chronicles his odyssey trying to penetrate the fortress of today’s no-hire job market.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 21, 2026

Those who don’t have a job are locked out of the growing economy as if it were a fortress, leaving them puzzled by the headlines of low unemployment and an accelerating GDP.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 17, 2026

It has been a logistics and supply hub for the Ukrainian military for much of the war and is part of the so-called "fortress belt" which troops are fighting to keep hold of.

From Barron's ● Oct. 8, 2026

They thought they could build a fortress around quarterback Justin Herbert, providing him an airtight pocket to pick apart defenses.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 6, 2026

According to the manual, a criminal’s secret becomes an “enemy” within him and “weakens the whole fortress of his strength.”

From "Killers of the Flower Moon" by David Grann

The two studio lots also boast dozens of soundstages; century-old fortresses that would not be easily duplicated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 12, 2026

French taxes paid for the powerful artillery that breached English-held fortresses and mowed down England’s last expeditionary force, at Castillon, Gascony, in July 1453.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 11, 2026

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

Priests carried tabots into one of the fortresses in Gondar, where they will be kept until the end of the festivities.

From BBC ● Jan. 20, 2024

Our ancestors and those who were considered wise used to say that it was necessary to hold Pistoia by factions and Pisa by fortresses.

From "The Prince" by Niccolò Machiavelli

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Related Words

• barrier
• citadel
• garrison
• rampart

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