fortress

Definition of fortressnext
as in stronghold
a structure or place from which one can resist attack the boys built a snow fortress and then challenged the neighborhood kids to an in-your-face snowball fight

Synonyms & Similar Words

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Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of fortress Haitian police on Monday arrested the mayor of a small rural town where 25 people, including school-age children, died over the weekend in a deadly stampede inside the historic Citadelle fortress. Jacqueline Charles, Miami Herald, 14 Apr. 2026 Isolated, he is confronted with a series of mysterious crimes that shatter the fragile order of his court, plunging the fortress into fear and suspicion. Zac Ntim, Deadline, 14 Apr. 2026 The site was especially crowded as hundreds of individuals gathered to celebrate the anniversary of the early 19th-century mountaintop fortress that symbolizes sovereignty and resistance against French colonialism. Desiree Anello, PEOPLE, 12 Apr. 2026 And within that fortress is Jane Driscoll (Nicole Brydon Bloom), one of this writer’s very favorite characters regardless of her major flaws as a human. Rachel Elspeth Gross, Forbes.com, 24 Mar. 2026 See All Example Sentences for fortress
Recent Examples of Synonyms for fortress
Noun
  • Dan Nowicki Erika Kirk praised the United States for holding a unique status on the globe and vowed that Turning Point will fight to stop her home state of Arizona from turning into a liberal stronghold like California.
    Arizona Republic, AZCentral.com, 17 Apr. 2026
  • A day before the ceasefire announcement, Netanyahu appeared to be preparing the Israeli public for a ceasefire, by framing the offensive as a kind of final battle for the village of Bint Jbeil, a key Hezbollah stronghold.
    Daniel Estrin, NPR, 16 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Craig Proctor, the childhood friend who played Dungeons & Dragons with him, told me that Friedmann once showed him architectural floor plans for a citadel that Friedmann’s thief-rogue avatar would oversee.
    James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026
  • Jeremy Blake released a trilogy of animations about San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House, the Victorian citadel built by a gun heiress to keep out the ghosts of those killed with her rifles.
    Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026
Noun
  • The area that would be renamed Donnyland under the plan is 50 miles long and 40 miles wide, but holds Ukraine’s best fortifications.
    Brady Knox, The Washington Examiner, 22 Apr. 2026
  • But with the success of ‘Evil Dead Rise’ and the fortification of a relationship with Warner Brothers, that suddenly started to turn into, no, this really needs to be a company with its own identity.
    Alex Ritman, Variety, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Families can build sand castles, fly kites, or climb to the top of the dunes for a stunning sunset show, while thrill-seekers can go sand-boarding or hang gliding (permits from and/or registration with the park office are required).
    Betsy Cribb Watson, Southern Living, 19 Apr. 2026
  • Then enjoy the rest of it on land, learning about native plants and animals at the Gulf State Park Nature Center and building towering sand castles with private lessons through Sand Castle University.
    Catherine Garcia, TheWeek, 17 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • Israeli officials further compounded those fears Wednesday, with Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language spokesman, accusing Hezbollah of moving beyond its traditional bastions of support in the southern suburbs of the capital and embedding itself in north Beirut and mixed neighborhoods.
    Nabih Bulos, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2026
  • And our backstop—for a lot of us, sort of last bastion—was work.
    Charlie Warzel, The Atlantic, 3 Apr. 2026
Noun
  • For now, veteran Mikael Granlund might hold down the fort until McQueen is ready to take over the role.
    Andrew Knoll, Oc Register, 18 Apr. 2026
  • Discover over 3 miles of beaches, hundreds of years of history (see old military forts and the iconic black-and-white Tybee Island Light Station, built in 1773), and lots of opportunities to explore nature.
    Lisa Cericola, Southern Living, 17 Apr. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Fortress.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/fortress. Accessed 24 Apr. 2026.

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