Masada

American  

[muh-sah-duh, muh-tsah-dah] / məˈsɑ də, mə tsɑˈdɑ /

noun

1. a mountaintop fortress in E Israel on the SW shore of the Dead Sea: site of Zealots' last stand against the Romans during revolt of a.d. 66–73.

---

Masada British  

/ məˈsɑːdə /

noun

1. an ancient mountaintop fortress in Israel, 400 m (1300 ft) above the W shore of the Dead Sea: the last Jewish stronghold during a revolt in Judaea (66–73 _ad ). Besieged by the Romans for a year, almost all of the inhabitants killed themselves rather than surrender. The site is an Israeli national monument

---

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Masada

Masada, in the Judean Desert, is where Jewish rebels chose death over surrender to Rome.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 3, 2026

My brother had his bar mitzvah at the mountaintop fortress of Masada overlooking the Dead Sea.

From Salon ● Nov. 30, 2025

The problem, of course, is that the Jews lost the battle of Masada; the last holdout of rebels died by mass suicide rather than surrender.

From Slate ● Mar. 26, 2024

He went on to win an Emmy award in 1981 for outstanding supporting actor in a miniseries or special for his portrayal of Pomponius Falco in the television miniseries Masada.

From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2022

At the last gasp, as it seemed, in the close and ever closer siege of misfortune, he was almost ready, like the Jews of Masada, to conquer by self-destruction.

From Weighed and Wanting by George MacDonald

Random Word

Spin the wheel and learn a new word!

---