bastion

[ bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn ]

noun

1. Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.
2. a fortified place.

   Synonyms: citadel, stronghold, bulwark, fort, fortress

3. anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc.:

   a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.

bastion

/ ˈbæstɪən /

noun

1. a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
2. any fortified place
3. a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc

   the last bastion of opposition

Other Words From

• bas·tion·ar·y [bas, -ch, uh, -ner-ee], adjective
• bastioned adjective

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastion¹

1590–1600; < Middle French < Italian bastione, equivalent to Upper Italian bastí ( a ) bastion, originally, fortified, built (cognate with Italian bastita, past participle of bastire to build < Germanic; baste ¹ ) + -one augmentative suffix

Word History and Origins

Origin of bastion¹

C16: from French, from earlier bastillon bastion, from bastille Bastille

Example Sentences

She pulled more votes than her fellow Democrat not just in the blue bastions of Vancouver and its suburbs, but also in the rural reaches of the district.

From Los Angeles Times

Queer influencers have become one of the remaining bastions of LGBTQ+ representation on the Chinese internet.

From Los Angeles Times

Trump has won conservative strongholds including Florida and Idaho, while Kamala Harris is sweeping liberal bastions from New York to California, CBS projects.

From BBC

Stewart, a bastion of everything from gardening to cooking to home decor, has been depended upon for decades to supply legitimate, reliable advice and tips to scores and scores of fans — and detractors, too.

From Salon

The industrial food supply will be the last bastion of the luxury economy, and we might mirror the cannibals in doomsday movies before we cede our idiosyncratic eating habits to austerity.

From Los Angeles Times

Related Words

• bulwark
• citadel
• fortress
• mainstay
• stronghold