bulwark

verb

bulwarked; bulwarking; bulwarks

transitive verb

: to fortify or safeguard with a bulwark

… ability to bulwark a moral choice …

—Margaret Mead

Synonyms of bulwark

• protect
• defend
• safeguard
• shield
• guard

Examples of bulwark in a Sentence

vowed to use any means necessary to bulwark the country against a terrorist attack

Recent Examples on the Web

In 2025 Trump declared a National Energy Emergency aimed at bulwarking the coal industry. —Dan Vergano, Scientific American, 4 June 2026

The Lost Cause was fortified by presidential power and bulwarked for a century by Jim Crow. —Horace D. Ballard, Artforum, 22 Apr. 2026

Providing one of the emotional high points at Locarno’s Spanish Previews, the production has been bulwarked recently by a pre-sale to national pubcaster RTVE and an ICAA Spanish film agency grant. —John Hopewell, Variety, 25 Nov. 2025

In the past decade or so, the U.S. has viewed India as an important regional ally and bulwark against China, and this might also account for some of the Biden Administration’s reticence to confront Modi publicly. —Taran Dugal, New Yorker, 19 Nov. 2025

Word History

Etymology

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

bulwark

noun

bul·​wark

ˈbu̇l-(ˌ)wərk, 

-ˌwȯrk;

ˈbəl-(ˌ)wərk

1

: a solid structure like a wall built for defense

2

: a strong support or protection

3

: the side of a ship above the upper deck

—usually used in plural

Etymology

Middle English bulwerke "bulwark," from early Dutch bolwerc (same meaning) — related to boulevard