Bastion
/ˈbæsti.ən/ noun, verb
noun, verb ·Moderate ·High school level
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A projecting part of a rampart or other fortification.
"[…] Fort Camosun had swelled herself from being a little Hudson's Bay Fort, inside a stockade with bastions at the corners, into being the little town of Victoria, and the capital of British Columbia."
- 2 projecting part of a rampart or other fortification wordnet
- 3 A well-fortified position; a stronghold or citadel.
- 4 a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle wordnet
- 5 A person, group, or thing, that strongly defends some principle. figuratively
"a bastion of hope"
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- 6 a group that defends a principle wordnet
- 7 Any large prominence; something that resembles a bastion in size and form.
"[…] yonder cloud That rises upward always higher, And onward drags a labouring breast, And topples round the dreary west, A looming bastion fringed with fire."
Verb
- 1 To furnish with a bastion. transitive
Example
More examples"Thanks to Facebook, stalking is no longer the bastion of a few devoted enthusiasts, but a highly automated task convenient enough even for the busy housewife."
Etymology
First attested in 1562. From French bastion, from Old French bastille (“fortress”).