Maginot line

[ mazh-uh-noh; French ma-zhee-noh ]

noun
  1. a zone of heavy defensive fortifications erected by France along its eastern border in the years preceding World War II, but outflanked in 1940 when the German army attacked through Belgium.

  2. any elaborate line of defense or set of barriers.

Origin of Maginot line

1
1925–30; after André Maginot (1877–1932), French minister of war

Words Nearby Maginot line

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How to use Maginot line in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for Maginot line

Maginot line

/ (ˈmæʒɪˌnəʊ, French maʒino) /


noun
  1. a line of fortifications built by France to defend its border with Germany prior to World War II; it proved ineffective against the German invasion

  2. any line of defence in which blind confidence is placed

Origin of Maginot line

1
named after André Maginot (1877–1932), French minister of war when the fortifications were begun in 1929

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

Cultural definitions for Maginot line

Maginot line

[ (mazh-uh-noh, maj-uh-noh) ]


A chain of defensive fortifications built by France on its eastern border between World War I and World War II. The Maginot line was designed to stop any future invasion by Germany, but it was never completed. In World War II, the Germans conquered France by going around the Maginot line to the north.

Notes for Maginot line

The expression Maginot mentality refers to any military strategy that is exclusively defensive and therefore flawed. It also refers to military planning that is aimed at the past. This way of thinking is sometimes referred to as “fighting the last war.”

The New Dictionary of Cultural Literacy, Third Edition Copyright © 2005 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.