citadel

noun cit·a·del \ ˈsi-tə-dᵊl , -ˌdel \

Updated on: 29 Mar 2018

Definition of citadel

1 : a fortress that commands (see ¹command 2c) a city

2 : stronghold

the nation's citadel of health research
—Constance Holden

a citadel of higher education

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Examples of citadel in a Sentence

We visited a medieval citadel in Italy.
a massive stone citadel continues to command the city of Halifax, Nova Scotia

Recent Examples of citadel from the Web

The few competitors at this stage will build improbable bridges under their very feet and sprout brick citadels with arrow slits for snipers to see through.

— steven strom, Ars Technica, "Fortnite brings out the 10-year-old fort builder in all of us," 17 Mar. 2018
Now the castle’s imposing stone walls and soaring Gothic spires are home to yet another era-defining figure — a president who for the past five years has turned it into a citadel of European populism.

— griff witte, Washington Post, "Pro-Europe Czechs hope for early spring in Prague, push to defeat Putin-friendly president," 25 Jan. 2018
The Spanish citadel, fully named Castillo San Felipe del Morro, dates back to the 16th century and was built to overlook the entrance to San Juan Bay.

— keri blakinger, Houston Chronicle, "San Antonio lovers' lane killer gets fourth execution date in less than a year," 14 Feb. 2018
The scrap-wood citadels of my childhood (above, left) lacked a certain sophistication that comes with actual planning.

— logan ward, Popular Mechanics, "How to Build a Treehouse in the Backyard," 20 Mar. 2017
This sets up the three rival factions: the Cantii in their mountain citadel, the Regni with their terrifying lady boss and bright blue outfits, and the Romans looking to play them off each other and collect some taxes for the emperor.

— lincoln michel, GQ, "Britannia Will Tide You Over Until Game of Thrones Returns," 6 Feb. 2018
The citadel's courtyard, once a no man's land of dueling snipers, now is full of people taking selfies before a large #Believe_In_Aleppo sign.

— nabih bulos, latimes.com, "Beyond Aleppo's bustling market, the cost of Syria's brutal civil war becomes clear," 5 Feb. 2018
For centuries Sunni Muslim fighters manned ribats, or citadels, on the coast and in the Hadhramaut region in the south and east.

— The Economist, "The centre cannot holdA rebellion in Aden is hastening the break-up of Yemen," 1 Feb. 2018
The Kremlin is a triangle, a citadel, a fortress unto itself, and Stalin’s building inside the Kremlin was a triangle inside the triangle, and his office was on the second of three floors in the corner, a little corner.

— isaac chotiner, Slate Magazine, "How to Build a Dictatorship," 15 Dec. 2017

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