fortress
Americannoun
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a large fortified place; a fort or group of forts, often including a town; citadel.
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any place of exceptional security; stronghold.
noun
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a large fort or fortified town
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a place or source of refuge or support
verb
Etymology
Origin of fortress
1300–50; Middle English forteresse < Old French < Vulgar Latin *fortaricia (compare Medieval Latin fortalitia ), equivalent to Latin fort ( is ) strong + -ar-, formative of uncertain meaning +- icia -ice
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
In one screen narrating the Battle of Yashima, Minamoto clan cavalry descend through a narrow pass to storm a Taira clan fortress.
From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 7, 2026
“The building is a fortress, it’s got thick concrete walls,” he said.
From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 16, 2026
The Maduros tried to escape into a safe place, the US president explained, describing it as a military "fortress".
From BBC • Jan. 4, 2026
Emery has turned Villa Park into a fortress, with just one home league defeat in 2025, fewer than any other team.
From Barron's • Dec. 21, 2025
The city’s fortress walls were so plain, so blank, and then he would go through a gate—and everywhere, Werfel thought joyously, everywhere there was life.
From "The Assassination of Brangwain Spurge" by M.T. Anderson and Eugene Yelchin
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
