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.

—American Scientist

bastioned

ˈbas-chənd 

adjective

Did you know?

Bastion today usually refers to a metaphorical fortress, a place where an idea, ethos, philosophy, culture, etc. is in some way protected and able to endure. But its oldest meaning concerned literal fortifications and strongholds. Bastion likely traces back to a verb, bastir, meaning “to build or weave,” from Old Occitan, a Romance language spoken in southern France from about 1100 to 1500. Bastir eventually led to bastia, an Italian word for a small quadrangular fortress, and from there bastione, referring to a part of a fortified structure—such as an outer wall—that juts or projects outward. Bastione became bastion in Middle French before entering English with the same meaning. You may be familiar with another bastir descendent, bastille, which refers generically to a prison or jail, but is best known as the name of the Parisian fortress-turned-prison stormed by an angry mob at the start of the French Revolution; the Bastille’s fall is commemorated in France by the national holiday Bastille Day.

Synonyms of bastion

• stronghold
• fortress
• citadel
• fortification
• castle

Examples of bastion in a Sentence

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

Recent Examples on the Web

The area was incredibly special to Chamberlain, who first came out East to stay with Larry Rivers in Southampton, long before the town was a bastion of Sant Ambroeus and Brandy Melville. — Nate Freeman, Vanity Fair, 21 Aug. 2026

He was tracked down in the town of Jesús María, a bastion of Los Chapitos on the outskirts of Culiacán, where another of El Chapo’s sons, Ovidio Guzmán López, was arrested after a firefight in 2023. — Senior Editor, Los Angeles Times, 21 Aug. 2026

Perhaps because the Venice Biennale remains one of the few bastions in the world defending freedom of expression, regardless of geographical origin or nationality. — John Bleasdale, Variety, 19 Aug. 2026

The city’s standing as a bastion of British literature, theatre, and classical music means that festivals are also a major draw year-round, like February’s Bath BachFest and the Children’s Literature Festival in September. — Paul Jebara, Condé Nast Traveler, 18 Aug. 2026

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