redoubt

noun

re·doubt ri-ˈdau̇t

Synonyms of redoubt next

: a small usually temporary enclosed defensive work

: a defended position : protective barrier

: a secure retreat : stronghold

Did you know?

Based on its spelling, you might think that redoubt shares its origin with words such as doubt and redoubtable, both of which come from the Latin verb dubitare, meaning "to be in doubt." But that's not the case. Redoubt actually comes to us (via the French word redoute and the Italian word ridotto) from a different Latin verb—reducere, meaning "to lead back," the same root that gives us reduce. How that b ended up in redoubt is a lingering question, but some etymologists have posited that the word might have been conflated with another redoubt—a now-archaic verb meaning "to regard with awe, dismay, or dread" which, unlike its twin, does indubitably come from dubitare.

Examples of redoubt in a Sentence

The refugees gathered in a hilly redoubt several miles outside the city. a massive stone redoubt at the entrance of the bay guarded the city

Recent Examples on the Web

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Elsewhere, this could only be a scene of sensory overload, but its eye-of-the-storm geography made the Bowl a kind of redoubt, cool and dark and almost hushed under the purple sky. —

Michael Owen, The Atlantic, 5 Feb. 2025 Soldiers and marines cleared the Taliban from longtime redoubts and improved security conditions, albeit while sustaining considerable losses. —

Max Boot, Foreign Affairs, 2 June 2021 The chemical precursors instead found their way to Myanmar, and Chinese lab technicians taught locals how to craft crystal methamphetamine, also known as ice, in jungle redoubts. —

Hannah Beech, New York Times, 31 Dec. 2024 Walls and towers made of stone and rammed earth rose from strategic ridge lines, making a formidable redoubt. —

Byandrew Lawler, science.org, 23 Oct. 2024 See all Example Sentences for redoubt

Word History

Etymology

French redoute, from Italian ridotto, from Medieval Latin reductus secret place, from Latin, withdrawn, from past participle of reducere to lead back — more at reduce

First Known Use

circa 1608, in the meaning defined at sense 1a

Time Traveler

The first known use of redoubt was circa 1608

See more words from the same year