rampart

American  

[ram-pahrt, -pert] / ˈræm pɑrt, -pərt /

noun

• ramparts
  plural

1. Fortification.

   1. a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.

   2. such an elevation together with the parapet.

2. anything serving as a bulwark or defense.

   Synonyms:

   guard, barricade, breastwork, fortification

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verb (used with object)

• ramparts,
  present (3rd person singular)
• ramparted,
  past participle,  past
• ramparting
  present participle

1. to furnish with or as if with a rampart.

rampart British  

/ ˈræmpɑːt /

noun

1. the surrounding embankment of a fort, often including any walls, parapets, walks, etc, that are built on the bank

2. anything resembling a rampart in form or function, esp in being a defence or bulwark

3. a steep rock wall in a river gorge

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verb

1. (tr) to provide with a rampart; fortify

Other Word Forms

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• ramparts
  plural

Participles

• ramparting
  present
• ramparted
  past

Conjugated Forms

Present

• rampart
  simple
• ramparts
  simple
• have ramparted
  perfect
• has ramparted
  perfect
• am ramparting
  progressive
• are ramparting
  progressive
• is ramparting
  progressive
• have been ramparting
  perfect progressive
• has been ramparting
  perfect progressive

Past

• ramparted
  simple
• had ramparted
  perfect
• was ramparting
  progressive
• were ramparting
  progressive
• had been ramparting
  perfect progressive

Future

• will rampart
  simple
• will have ramparted
  perfect
• will be ramparting
  progressive
• will have been ramparting
  perfect progressive

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Etymology

Origin of rampart

1575–85; < Middle French, derivative of remparer, equivalent to re- re- + emparer to take possession of < Provençal amparar ≪ Latin ante- ante- + parāre to prepare

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Explanation

If you are building a sand castle and want it to be extra realistic, don’t forget the rampart. This protective wall may not keep the ocean away, but it might intimidate a few hostile hermit crabs. This noun is derived from the French verb remparer, meaning “to fortify,” and dates back to the 16th century. This usually refers to a large defensive wall surrounding a castle, but can be a barrier built along a road or an embankment constructed alongside a river. This word is famously used in the lyrics of "The Star-Spangled Banner," the national anthem of the United States: “O'er the ramparts we watched, were so gallantly streaming...”

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

rampart ramparts ramparted

Its towering, mostly unbroken face and narrow swimming pool suggested a rampart and a moat, but behind the concrete exterior, Caland eliminated every door save the guest bathroom.

From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 21, 2026

On top of this base, turf would have been laid to build a rampart about 2 metres high.

From BBC ● Apr. 18, 2023

One of them, “View From the Citadel Ramparts in Copenhagen by Moonlight,” shows two sailors and a soldier standing on the rampart of a citadel that was battered during the Napoleonic Wars.

From Washington Post ● Feb. 3, 2023

Up close, the structure, which will cost as much as $40 million, looks less like a dune and more like a rampart.

From New York Times ● Nov. 2, 2022

The sun has gone down over the rampart walls, and the guards manning them turn into silhouettes.

From "What the Night Sings" by Vesper Stamper

The 75-year-old leader made the announcement while speaking from the ramparts of New Delhi's imposing 17th-century Red Fort to mark the country's independence from Britain on August 15, 1947.

From Barron's ● Aug. 15, 2026

This laid-back, cafe-laden ledge is located above the beaches and ancient ramparts where the Douro River pours through its last, lovely tributaries into the Atlantic Ocean.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 27, 2026

Defenders of the bolillo ascended the ramparts of the internet to defend their humble fare.

From Los Angeles Times ● Dec. 22, 2025

That same year, with his painstaking production of The Beach Boys’ blockbuster single “Good Vibrations,” Wilson seemed poised to explore even greater musical ramparts.

From Salon ● Jun. 12, 2025

Pausing for an instant, Shadow looked about before descending the stone steps from the ramparts to the cloisters.

From "Redwall" by Brian Jacques

We visited rambling, ramparted castles like the massive Llansteffan, framed by cerulean skies overlooking the sea, and we walked through landscapes where thick hedgerows line country lanes.

From New York Times ● Mar. 20, 2014

Youth is a fool; the young Titans cannot scale heaven,—heaven, that, if what I live through be true, is ramparted round with tyrant lies!

From The Atlantic Monthly, Volume 11, No. 67, May, 1863 by Various

No passer-by would have guessed that the three partners were ensconced in the black mouth of the tunnel, ramparted by the dump heap, watching for developments they were fairly sure would start with darkness.

From Rimrock Trail by Joseph Allan Dunn

Secure in his impregnable egotism, ramparted about with mighty walls of conceit, he bids defiance to attack, and lives an enviable life of self-centred pleasure.

From Punch, or the London Charivari, Volume 103, November 26, 1892 by Sir F. C. (Francis Cowley) Burnand

The Rounds have been cut across by a road, but there are distinct traces of two ramparted circles, with some remains of a sheltering earthwork to the west.

From The Cornwall Coast by Arthur L. (Arthur Leslie) Salmon

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Related Words

• barricade

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