battlement

noun

bat·​tle·​ment ˈba-tᵊl-mənt How to pronounce battlement (audio)
: a parapet with open spaces that surmounts a wall and is used for defense or decoration
battlemented adjective

Illustration of battlement

Illustration of battlement
  • 1 crenellations
  • 2 merlons
  • 3 machicolations

Examples of battlement in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Pedestrians sauntered along a row of European flagship boutiques nestled in battlements of creamy limestone: Gucci, YSL, Prada, Louis Vuitton. Rachel Syme, The New Yorker, 18 Sep. 2023 Hike up the road to the summit on the back side of Mt. Ballyhoo to see some of the old battlements. Scott McMurren, Anchorage Daily News, 3 June 2023 The castle now belongs to the family of an Italian lawyer who purchased the fortified island in 1912 and began restoration of its battlements, churches, convents, crypts and gardens. Joe Yogerst, CNN, 11 May 2023 The home’s centerpiece — a tall stone tower topped with a crenelated battlement straight out of Monty Python’s Unladen Swallow sketch and visible for miles — has earned it the nickname Comfort Castle. Richard A. Marini, San Antonio Express-News, 21 Mar. 2023 Athenry Castle This 13th-century castle overlooking the Clarinbridge River in County Galway still retains parts of its medieval walls, battlements, and decorative stone carvings. Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 24 Mar. 2023 It’s just buried under a battlement of cheese and fried tortillas. Mike Sutter, San Antonio Express-News, 20 May 2021 In the narrator’s hands, cliché becomes a kind of battlement, fencing off the keep where his characters have taken shelter. Robert Rubsam, The New Republic, 24 Feb. 2022 The police later found an orange rope tied to a flagpole outside, which the fleeing thieves may have used to clamber down a 10-foot brick battlement wall, part of the original city fortifications, from the garden to the path below. New York Times, 18 Jan. 2021

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'battlement.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

Etymology

Middle English batelment, from Anglo-French *bataillement, from batailler to fortify with battlements — more at battle

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Time Traveler
The first known use of battlement was in the 14th century

Dictionary Entries Near battlement

Cite this Entry

“Battlement.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/battlement. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

battlement

noun
bat·​tle·​ment ˈbat-ᵊl-mənt How to pronounce battlement (audio)
: a low wall (as at the top of a castle or a tower) with open spaces to shoot through
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