fortify
verb (used with object)
to protect or strengthen against attack; surround or provide with defensive military works.
was fortifying
-
past progressiveof fortify.past progressive
Used to describe an ongoing action or continuous state that was happening at a specific time in the past.
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.
Frederiksen said on Thursday that Denmark was fortifying its military presence in the Arctic and offered closer collaboration with the United States in defending the region.
From BBC ● Apr. 3, 2025
At the same time, Russia was fortifying its defensive lines, converting its economy to war production, conscripting hundreds of thousands of fighters and adjusting its strategy for renewed offensives this winter.
From New York Times ● Feb. 24, 2024
The Russian military was fortifying the defenses around Moscow, and Lukashenko told Prigozhin he was about to get “squashed like a bug,” he later recalled.
From Seattle Times ● Jun. 28, 2023
But the effect was that I became submissive to all of it, believing in it when it was fortifying and believing in it when it left me feeling abandoned.
From The New Yorker ● Jul. 30, 2018
Lord Cornwallis had collected his whole force at Yorktown and Gloucester Point, which he was fortifying assiduously; and the Marquis had taken a position on James River.
From The Life of George Washington, Vol. 3 Commander in Chief of the American Forces During the War which Established the Independence of his Country and First President of the United States by John Marshall
