garrison
1 Americannoun
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a body of troops stationed in a fortified place.
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the place where such troops are stationed.
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any military post, especially a permanent one.
verb (used with object)
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to provide (a fort, town, etc.) with a garrison.
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to occupy (a fort, post, station, etc.) with troops.
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to put (troops) on duty in a fort, post, station, etc.
noun
noun
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the troops who maintain and guard a base or fortified place
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the place itself
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( as modifier )
a garrison town
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verb
Other Word Forms
- overgarrison verb (used with object)
- regarrison verb (used with object)
- ungarrisoned adjective
Etymology
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
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.
Pakistan's Information Minister Atta Tarar said its military thwarted Afghan drones targeting Swabi, Nowshera and Abbottabad, which is a military garrison city housing the army's military academy.
From BBC • Feb. 27, 2026
It was a heady trophy for a 13-year-old, presented to me at graduation by a rumpled legionnaire in a garrison cap decorated with military pins.
From The Wall Street Journal • Feb. 4, 2026
Singapore was considered impregnable, but it wasn’t prepared for an attack from the mainland, and its 60,000-strong garrison surrendered on Feb. 8, 1942, the worst defeat in British history.
From The Wall Street Journal • Oct. 27, 2025
India had targeted three Pakistani air bases, including one in Rawalpindi - the garrison city that houses the Pakistan Army's General Headquarters.
From BBC • May 17, 2025
“From the south. A small garrison in Moat Cailin can play havoc with any army coming up the causeway, but the ruins are vulnerable from the north and east.”
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
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.
