garrison

[gar-uh-suh n]

SEE MORE SYNONYMS FOR garrison ON THESAURUS.COM

noun

a body of troops stationed in a fortified place.

the place where such troops are stationed.

any military post, especially a permanent one.

verb (used with object)

to provide (a fort, town, etc.) with a garrison.

to occupy (a fort, post, station, etc.) with troops.

to put (troops) on duty in a fort, post, station, etc.

Origin of garrison

1250–1300; Middle English garisoun protection, stronghold < Old French garison, gareison defense, provision, derivative of garir, guerir to defend < Germanic; compare Old High German warjan

Related formso·ver·gar·ri·son, verb (used with object)re·gar·ri·son, verb (used with object)un·gar·ri·soned, adjective

Garrison

[gar-uh-suh n]

noun

William Lloyd,1805–79, U.S. leader in the abolition movement.

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

Related Words for garrison

stronghold, encampment, fortress, fortification, citadel, base, barracks, camp

Examples from the Web for garrison

Contemporary Examples of garrison

On another, Garrison said he handed a doctor a bottle of wine in a canister packed with $100 bills.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’
The Center for Investigative Reporting
November 3, 2014
On one occasion, Garrison said Williams had him hand one out-of-state doctor an envelope stuffed with $20,000 in cash.
Patients Screwed in Spine Surgery ‘Scam’
The Center for Investigative Reporting
November 3, 2014
Garrison now lives on a farm in Hico, Texas, and has never given an interview about Black Hawk Down.
Black Hawk Down’s Long Shadow
Daniel Klaidman
October 9, 2013
The other is an 80-acre estate in Garrison, New York, which is about halfway between Shokan and Soho.
Sean Eldridge, Husband of Facebook Mogul Chris Hughes, Running For Congress
Ben Jacobs
September 23, 2013
Out of the 18,500-strong party that left Kabul, only one man, Dr. Brydon, made it back to the British garrison in Jalalabad.
‘A War for No Wise Purpose’: Afghanistan Defeats the West Again
William Dalrymple
April 17, 2013

Historical Examples of garrison

In this situation we concluded to maintain our garrison, if possible.
The Adventures of Colonel Daniel Boone
John Filson
The Malakand garrison was being overwhelmed by thousands of tribesmen.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
Thus the garrison of the fort received a needed reinforcement.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
The garrison of the fort aided the tower guard by their fire.
The Story of the Malakand Field Force
Sir Winston S. Churchill
In the centre of the island is an eminence, which was occupied by the garrison, and had some artillery.
Ned Myers
James Fenimore Cooper

British Dictionary definitions for garrison

garrison

noun

the troops who maintain and guard a base or fortified place

the place itself
(as modifier)a garrison town

verb

(tr) to station (troops) in (a fort)

Word Origin for garrison

C13: from Old French garison, from garir to defend, of Germanic origin; compare Old Norse verja to defend, Old English, Old High German werian

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 garrison

c.1300, "store, treasure," from Old French garison "defense" (Modern French guérison "cure, recovery, healing") from garir "defend" (see garret). Meaning "fortified stronghold" is from early 15c.; that of "body of troops in a fortress" is from mid-15c., a sense taken over from Middle English garnison "body of armed men" (late 14c.), from Old French garnison "provision, munitions," from garnir "to furnish, provide."

1560s, from garrison (n.). Related: Garrisoned; garrisoning.