bastion

noun

bas·​tion ˈbas-chən 

1

: a projecting part of a fortification

a bastion at each of the fort's five corners

2

: a fortified area or position

bombing island bastions

3

: stronghold sense 2

the last bastion of academic standards

—Amer. Scientist

bastioned

ˈbas-chənd 

adjective

Did you know?

Bastion is related to bastille (a word now used as a general term for a prison, but probably best known as the name of the Parisian fortress-turned-prison stormed by an angry mob at the start of the French Revolution). It comes from the Italian verb bastire, which means "to build."

Synonyms

• castle
• citadel
• fastness
• fort
• fortification
• fortress
• hold
• redoubt
• stronghold

Examples of bastion in a Sentence

the rebel army retreated to its bastion in the mountains to regroup

Recent Examples on the Web

Even in San Francisco, once a bastion of now-closed lesbian bars like Maud’s and Lexington Club, only three venues are listed by the project: Wild Side West, which opened in 1962; Scarlet Fox wine bar, a relative newcomer to the city and Jolene’s, a club-like bar in the Mission. —Hannah Wiley, Los Angeles Times, 11 July 2024

Even in Wisconsin's liberal bastion, the capital city of Madison, President Joe Biden's debate performance with former President Donald Trump left voters at a watch party lamenting their choice in the election. —Laura Schulte, Journal Sentinel, 27 June 2024

In just a few years, the festival has established itself as a jam-band bastion at a time when many similar events have disappeared nationwide. —Garret K. Woodward, Rolling Stone, 20 June 2024

Since first taking office in January 2021, Bowman refused to internalize that his district was not a bastion of ideological extremism or a demographic monolith. —Lloyd Green, New York Daily News, 27 June 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Italian bastione, from bastia "small quadrangular fortress" (from an Upper Italian counterpart to Tuscan bastita, from feminine past participle of bastire "to build," probably borrowed from Old Occitan bastir "to weave, build," or its Gallo-Romance ancestor) + -one, augmentative suffix (going back to Latin -ō, -ōn-, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent feature) — more at bastille

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

bastion

noun

bas·​tion ˈbas-chən 

: some place or something that gives protection against attack

a bastion of democracy