bastion
Americannoun
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Fortification. a projecting portion of a rampart or fortification that forms an irregular pentagon attached at the base to the main work.
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a fortified place.
- Synonyms:
- citadel, stronghold, bulwark, fort, fortress
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anything seen as preserving or protecting some quality, condition, etc..
a bastion of solitude; a bastion of democracy.
noun
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a projecting work in a fortification designed to permit fire to the flanks along the face of the wall
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any fortified place
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a thing or person regarded as upholding or defending an attitude, principle, etc
the last bastion of opposition
Other Word Forms
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.
Vocabulary lists containing bastion
Lord of the Flies
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A Raisin in the Sun
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100 SAT Words Beginning with "B"
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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.
This is Liverpool, the supposed bastion of stability.
From BBC • May 30, 2026
On Monday it won a sweeping victory in state elections in West Bengal, India’s fourth most populous state, long regarded as an opposition bastion beyond the BJP’s grasp.
From The Wall Street Journal • May 6, 2026
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
Juries are a fundamental bastion of democracy, and it’s beyond dangerous to allow powerful and wealthy corporations to shield themselves from ever having to face jurors’ judgment.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 12, 2026
A second memo, from a captain, seemed aimed at shaking up the tower personnel, who were no doubt a bastion of complacency.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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.
