fortress

noun

for·​tress ˈfȯr-trəs 

: a fortified place : stronghold

especially : a large and permanent fortification sometimes including a town

fortresslike

ˈfȯr-trəs-līk 

adjective

Synonyms

• bastion
• castle
• citadel
• fastness
• fort
• fortification
• hold
• redoubt
• stronghold

Examples of fortress in a Sentence

the boys built a snow fortress and then challenged the neighborhood kids to an in-your-face snowball fight

Recent Examples on the Web

One immediate result of those changes was that Dignity Health Sports Park became a fortress again. —Kevin Baxter, Los Angeles Times, 3 Dec. 2024

The coming-of-age story follows the adventures of a young girl born into a band of robbers set in and around a fortress in medieval Scandinavia. —Jesse Whittock, Deadline, 9 Oct. 2024

Phillips renders the asylum as a convincingly tactile, gray-brown fortress. —Spencer Kornhaber, The Atlantic, 4 Oct. 2024

Built on the foundations of a 15th-century fortress, what makes Luxembourg efficient is its short airport-to-city centre journey, which lasts only 12 minutes, its highly efficient public transportation system and the lowest Tripadvisor Queue Score in Avis’ study. —Rebecca Ann Hughes, Forbes, 26 Nov. 2024

Word History

Etymology

Middle English forteresse, from Anglo-French fortelesce, forteresse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis strong

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fortress

noun

for·​tress ˈfȯr-trəs 

: a fortified place