rampart

[ ram-pahrt, -pert ]

noun

1. Fortification.
   1. a broad elevation or mound of earth raised as a fortification around a place and usually capped with a stone or earth parapet.
   2. such an elevation together with the parapet.
2. anything serving as a bulwark or defense.

   Synonyms: guard, barricade, breastwork, fortification

verb (used with object)

1. to furnish with or as if with a rampart.

rampart

/ ˈræmpɑːt /

noun

1. the surrounding embankment of a fort, often including any walls, parapets, walks, etc, that are built on the bank
2. anything resembling a rampart in form or function, esp in being a defence or bulwark
3. a steep rock wall in a river gorge

verb

1. tr to provide with a rampart; fortify

Word History and Origins

Origin of rampart¹

1575–85; < Middle French, derivative of remparer, equivalent to re- re- + emparer to take possession of < Provençal amparar ≪ Latin ante- ante- + parāre to prepare

Word History and Origins

Origin of rampart¹

C16: from Old French, from remparer , from re- + emparer to take possession of, from Old Provençal antparar , from Latin ante before + parāre to prepare

Example Sentences

There’s the satisfying meat and potatoes of exploration at Castle Ensis, with vertiginous balustrades and winding ramparts that cross over and under themselves in impossible architectural configurations.

From New York Times

The ramp they were climbing sloped up to one of the ramparts, which they quickly carried May along, desperately looking for a way back down to the courtyard.

From Literature

This seaside respite on the Côte d’Azur was once a 17th-century soap factory yet looks like a castle thanks to a Scottish lord who, in the early 1900s, added turrets and crenelated ramparts.

From New York Times

The deal covered a plot of 11,500 sq m, abutting the ramparts of the south-western corner of the Old City, with an option to take over an even bigger area.

From BBC

They’re almost comically close: People with strong arms could have a game of catch between the ramparts.

From Seattle Times

Related Words

• barricade