castle

noun cas·tle \ ˈka-səl \

Definition of castle

1 a :a large fortified building or set of buildings

b :a massive or imposing house

2 :a retreat safe against intrusion or invasion

3 :³rook

See castle defined for English-language learners

See castle defined for kids

Examples of castle in a Sentence

Millionaires built their castles along the lake.
the implacable attackers placed the castle under a prolonged siege

Recent Examples of castle from the Web

The castle, now used as an inn, isn't far from Depp's farm.

— kirby adams, The Courier-Journal, "Snoop around Johnny Depp's Kentucky horse farm before it goes on sale," 29 Aug. 2017
The quake damaged churches, an old mosque, and the port's 14th century castle, along with old buildings in the town.

— Bloomberg.com, "Greece: Quake Kills Two, Sends Island Tourists Into Panic," 20 July 2017
In artificial landscapes castles, churches and cottages were seen as scenic.

— The Economist, "Artificial intelligenceComputer analysis of what is scenic may help town planners," 20 July 2017
The castle looked as if it had been assembled from old cardboard boxes.

— tim kiska, Detroit Free Press, "Jerry Booth, who portrayed Detroit TV host Jingles, dies at 82," 29 June 2017
In 2001, those teams and others gathered in a castle high on a hill in the hamlet of Bad Liebenzell in Germany's Black Forest and decided to push further, by mounting the definitive tritium beta decay experiment.

— adrian cho, Science | AAAS, "Weighing the universe's most elusive particle," 29 June 2017
The lights are synced with the curvature and height of the castle’s walls and turrets, and the whole shebang is set to a new arrangement by composer John Williams.

— marielle wakim, Los Angeles Magazine, "The 5 Best Things to Do in L.A. This Weekend," 23 June 2017
To small island nations where the land juts just above the rising seas, the U.S. pulling out of the Paris global warming pact makes the future seem as fragile and built on hope as a sand castle.

— Washington Post, "Experts: US exiting climate pact may doom some small islands," 23 June 2017
Also, Gray Worm and the Unsullied are breaking into what appears to be Casterly Rock, the Lannister's castle.

— annalee newitz, Ars Technica, "“The enemy is real,” and the new Game of Thrones trailer is too," 22 June 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'castle.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Illustration of castle

Origin and Etymology of castle

Middle English castel, from Old English, from Old French & Latin; Old French dialect (Norman-Picard) castel, from Latin castellum fortress, diminutive of castrum fortified place; perhaps akin to Latin castrare to castrate

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

See Words from the same year

castle Synonyms

Synonyms

bastion, fort, citadel, fastness, fortification, fortress, hold, redoubt, stronghold

Related Words

battlement, breastwork, bulwark, earthwork, embattlement, parapet, rampart; bunker, dugout; blockhouse, garrison house; alcazar, casbah (also kasbah)

castle

verb

Definition of castle

castled; castling play \ˈka-s(ə-)liŋ\

transitive verb

1 :to establish in a castle

2 :to move (the chess king) in castling

intransitive verb

:to move a chess king two squares toward a rook and in the same move the rook to the square next past the king

Recent Examples of castle from the Web

Now Black cannot castle kingside after Be3 and Qd2.)

— michael ciamarra, AL.com, "Alabama's rising chess star Arden Markin, tournament prize winners," 11 June 2017
Jasper Hall of Fame Classic Lake Central 15, Castle 2 Castle 100 01 — 2 6 2 Lake Central 058 2x — 15 7 0 WP: Zack Dobbs 5 IP, 5 SO. Lake Central 10, Jasper 3 Lake Central 204 102 1 — 10 8 2 Jasper 011 010 0 — 3 6 3 WP: Jason Lamont 5 IP, 4 SO.

— Post-Tribune, "Post-Tribune Local Scoreboard for Sunday, May 14," 13 May 2017

First Known Use of castle

1587

CASTLE Defined for English Language Learners

castle

noun

Definition of castle for English Language Learners

: a large building usually with high, thick walls and towers that was built in the past to protect against attack
: a large expensive house
: a piece in the game of chess that looks like a castle tower