Fortification
noun ·Moderate ·College level
Definitions
- 1 The act of fortifying; the art or science of fortifying places to strengthen defence against an enemy. countable, uncountable
- 2 the addition of an ingredient for the purpose of enrichment (as the addition of alcohol to wine or the addition of vitamins to food) wordnet
- 3 That which fortifies; especially, a work or works erected to defend a place against attack; a fortified place; a fortress; a fort; a castle. countable, uncountable
"Kenett states that the military works still known by the name of Tadmarten Camp and Hook-Norton Barrow were cast up at this time ; the former, large and round, is judged to be a fortification of the Danes, and the latter, being smaller and rather a quinquangle than a square, of the Saxons."
- 4 defensive structure consisting of walls or mounds built around a stronghold to strengthen it wordnet
- 5 An increase in effectiveness, as by adding ingredients. countable, uncountable
"Compare the nutrition information label of a regular ready-to-eat fortified cereal with that of a presweetened brand and you'll note that, although the sweetened one's sugar content is higher, the fortification is virtually identical."
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- 6 the art or science of strengthening defenses wordnet
- 7 A jagged pattern sometimes seen during an attack of migraine. countable, uncountable
Antonyms
All antonymsExample
More examples"I came home to my fortification, not feeling, as we say, the ground I went on, but terrified to the last degree, looking behind me at every two or three steps, mistaking every bush and tree, and fancying every stump at a distance to be a man."
Etymology
Borrowed from Middle French fortification, from Late Latin fortificatio, fortificationem, from fortifico, from Latin fortis. By surface analysis, fort + -ification.
Related phrases
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Data sourced from Wiktionary, WordNet, CMU, and other open linguistic databases. Updated March 2026.