abatis

American  

[ab-uh-tee, -tis, uh-bat-ee, uh-bat-is] / ˈæb əˌti, -tɪs, əˈbæt i, əˈbæt ɪs /

noun

plural

abatis, abatises

1. an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.

2. a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.

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abatis British  

/ ˈæbətiː, ˈæbətɪs /

noun

1. a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards

2. a barbed-wire entanglement before a position

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Etymology

Origin of abatis

1760–70; < French; Old French abateis < Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre ( see abate)

Example Sentences

The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and a line of earthworks manned by Brig.

From Washington Post • Sep. 17, 2021

Beyond the Sa�ne all the roads were broken up, the woods choked with abatis, and the whole population in arms.

From The Franco-German War of 1870-71 by Helmuth, Count

In the advance of each was a forlorn hope of twenty men, one led by Lieutenant Gibbon, the other by Lieutenant Knox; it was their desperate duty to remove the abatis.

From The Student's Life of Washington; Condensed from the Larger Work of Washington Irving For Young Persons and for the Use of Schools by Irving, Washington

Infantry was up most of the night felling trees and building an abatis on the other side of river.

From An Artilleryman's Diary by Jones, Jenkins Lloyd

They were now exactly opposite the Death Angle and only a few yards from the abatis.

From Vermont riflemen in the war for the union, 1861 to 1865 A history of Company F, First United States sharp shooters by Ripley, William Y. W.