stronghold

American  

[strawng-hohld, strong-] / ˈstrɔŋˌhoʊld, ˈstrɒŋ- /

noun

1. a well-fortified place; fortress.

   Synonyms:

   bastion, bulwark

2. a place that serves as the center of a group, as of militants or of persons holding hold holding a controversial viewpoint.

   The campus was a stronghold of liberalism.

   Synonyms:

   refuge, home, bastion, bulwark

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stronghold British  

/ ˈstrɒŋˌhəʊld /

noun

1. a defensible place; fortress

2. a major centre or area of predominance

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Etymology

Origin of stronghold

late Middle English word dating back to 1375–1425; strong, hold ¹

Example Sentences

Scappaticci was raised in the Irish republican stronghold of west Belfast where he would find work as a bricklayer.

From BBC

The suburban ninth district, which sits outside Fort Worth and includes a town called White Settlement, is the very definition of a Republican stronghold.

From Salon

The area is a stronghold of Senegal's Lebou ethnic group, a fishing people closely tied to the ocean who live throughout the Dakar region.

From Barron's

Reid lost both his legs and his right arm in 2009 from having stepped on an improvised explosive device in Helmand province, a Taliban stronghold which saw some of the conflict’s fiercest fighting.

From The Wall Street Journal

The army said it "started the deployment" into Syria's north and east "to secure it under the agreement", adding that forces had reached the outskirts of Hasakeh city, whose province is the Kurds' stronghold.

From Barron's

Related Words

• bastion
• fortress
• garrison
• redoubt