bastion

American  

[bas-chuhn, -tee-uhn] / ˈbæs tʃən, -ti ən /

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.

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bastion British  

/ 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

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Other Word Forms

• bastionary adjective
• bastioned adjective

Etymology

Origin of bastion

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; see baste ¹) + -one augmentative suffix

Explanation

When the battle is getting long and the odds are getting longer, retreat to your bastion to regroup and prepare for the next round of fighting. A bastion is a stronghold or fortification that remains intact. French Independence Day, or Bastille Day (July 14), commemorates the storming in 1789 of the French king's prison/fort, the Bastille. Bastion and Bastille share the root bast, which means "build." Bastion can refer to any place to which one turns for safety; that can include not only buildings but also concepts, ideas, and even beliefs. The Church, for example, is a bastion of many religious beliefs.

Example Sentences

Small towns, villages and hamlets -- home to around half of the central European nation's 9.5 million people -- have long been the bastion of the ruling Fidesz party.

From Barron's • Mar. 29, 2026

For years, investors treated the Persian Gulf as a bastion of calm in a deeply unstable region.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 6, 2026

At that $500,000 price point, a buyer can still land a single-family home — an example of how the Midwest remains a bastion of affordability.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 11, 2026

As a decentralized system whose channels and stations exist within the communities they serve, public media represents a last bastion of local and regional programming.

From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 29, 2025

You’re allowed to look different there because, apparently, it’s a bastion of difference.

From "Saints and Misfits" by S.K. Ali

Related Words

• bulwark
• citadel
• fortress
• mainstay
• stronghold