fortress

noun

ˈfȯr-trəs How to pronounce fortress (audio)
Definition of fortressnext
as in stronghold
a structure or place from which one can resist attack the boys built a snow fortress and then challenged the neighborhood kids to an in-your-face snowball fight

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of fortress Her references seem specific to Macon, the Marlboro Man who lives in a ranch-style fortress. — Ben Travers, IndieWire, 23 Aug. 2026 Another day trip option is the hilltop town of Erice, where there's a medieval fortress that's over 2,500 years old. — Megan Rose Murray, Condé Nast Traveler, 22 Aug. 2026 Cage plays Roy, a gifted con artist with obsessive-compulsive disorder whose tics, phobias and elaborate rituals have turned his immaculate home into a fortress against the world. — Los Angeles Times, 20 Aug. 2026 Chalk it up to the leftover hubris of late-20th-century American empire and the grand illusion of a liberated civilization thriving behind an impenetrable fortress. — Andy Andersen, Vulture, 16 Aug. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fortress
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fortress
  1. stronghold
  2. citadel
  3. fortification
  4. castle
  5. bastion
  6. fort
Noun
  • But because the system is a stronghold for the endangered Alabama cave shrimp, monitoring teams have explored the cave nearly every month since the early 1990s.
    — Elizabeth Anne Brown, Scientific American, 2 Sep. 2026
  • That historic exodus helped turn the Republic of Korea, as South Korea is formally known, into a stronghold of the Christian faith and one of the world’s biggest exporters of missionaries.
    — Literary Hub, Literary Hub, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of stronghold
Noun
  • One night, a cockroach breaches his citadel, and Pratt swiftly dispatches it.
    — Asim Ali, Time, 1 Aug. 2026
  • Laelaps was sent to chase a fox that was terrorizing the Cadmea, a citadel.
    — Maddie Rhodes, USA Today, 24 July 2026
Definition of citadel
Noun
  • During the seven years that it was occupied by British forces, Manhattan had been ravaged by fires, picked over by looters, covered in fortifications, and swollen with refugees.
    — Eric Lach, New Yorker, 26 Aug. 2026
  • The historic military fort overlooks the entrance to the Halifax Harbour and boasts old fortifications, historic artifacts, and unbeatable ocean views.
    — Kaitlyn McInnis, Forbes.com, 31 July 2026
Definition of fortification
Noun
  • Aargau Cantonal Police said one person was killed and five others were wounded after shots were fired at the event in the town of Aarau, a scenic area known for its lush valleys, medieval castles and thermal springs.
    — Sophie Tanno, CNN Money, 30 Aug. 2026
  • The mountains, castles, and ruins of Ashina enable a unique traversal system.
    — Aman Kumar, Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 Aug. 2026
Definition of castle
Noun
  • The area was incredibly special to Chamberlain, who first came out East to stay with Larry Rivers in Southampton, long before the town was a bastion of Sant Ambroeus and Brandy Melville.
    — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026
  • He was tracked down in the town of Jesús María, a bastion of Los Chapitos on the outskirts of Culiacán, where another of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, was arrested after a firefight in 2023.
    — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026
Definition of bastion
Noun
  • The spa, in the fort’s ancient temple, blends Ayurveda with Six Senses’ inimitable touch.
    — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 1 Sep. 2026
  • Just across the sidewalk from the West Martello Tower, a Civil War-era fort where the Garden Club is housed, lies an unkempt field of grass, worn out by dehydration and footsteps.
    — Oliver Wu, Rolling Stone, 1 Sep. 2026
Definition of fort

Browse Nearby Words

fortitude
fortress
fortresses
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Fortress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fortress. Accessed 5 Sep. 2026.

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More from Merriam-Webster on fortress

Britannica.com: Encyclopedia article about fortress

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