fortify
Americanverb (used with object)
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to protect or strengthen against attack; surround or provide with defensive military works.
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to furnish with a means of resisting force or standing strain or wear.
to fortify cotton with nylon.
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to make strong; impart strength or vigor to.
to fortify oneself with a good breakfast.
- Synonyms:
- reinforce, strengthen
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to increase the effectiveness of, as by additional ingredients.
to fortify a diet with vitamins; to fortify a lotion with lanolin.
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to strengthen mentally or morally.
to be fortified by religious faith.
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to confirm or corroborate.
to fortify an accusation with facts.
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Nutrition. to add one or more ingredients to (a food) to increase its nutritional content.
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to add alcohol to (wine or the like).
verb (used without object)
verb
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(also intr) to make (a place) defensible, as by building walls, digging trenches, etc
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to strengthen physically, mentally, or morally
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to strengthen, support, or reinforce (a garment, structure, etc)
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to add spirits or alcohol to (wine), in order to produce sherry, port, etc
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to increase the nutritious value of (a food), as by adding vitamins and minerals
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to support or confirm
to fortify an argument with facts
Other Word Forms
- fortifiable adjective
- fortifier noun
- fortifyingly adverb
- nonfortifiable adjective
- nonfortifying adjective
- refortify verb (used with object)
- underfortify verb (used with object)
- unfortifiable adjective
Etymology
Origin of fortify
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English fortifien, from Middle French fortifier, from Late Latin fortificāre, equivalent to Latin forti(s) “strong” + -ficāre -fy
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.
After a bruising property downturn and years of economic uncertainty, families appear determined to fortify their balance sheets first — and spend later.
From MarketWatch • Feb. 26, 2026
New software techniques and extensions need to be developed to detect and fortify quantum programs against security threats.
From Science Daily • Jan. 20, 2026
Discovery has a massive library of popular and classic films along with durable TV series such as “Friends,” that would fortify Paramount’s own streaming platform Paramount+.
From Los Angeles Times • Dec. 15, 2025
“Even as you succumb to the other person’s powerful influence, you feel an equal and opposite impulse to bolster your own identity, to fortify yourself—in a sense, to push back.”
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 5, 2025
Another two months to fortify and hide it from the prying eyes of aux patrols.
From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir
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.
