citadel

noun

cit·​a·​del ˈsi-tə-dᵊl 

-ˌdel

1

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

2

: stronghold

… the nation's citadel of health research …

—Constance Holden

a citadel of higher education

Synonyms of citadel

• fortress
• stronghold
• bastion
• fortification
• castle
• fort

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 on the Web

Craig Proctor, the childhood friend who played Dungeons & Dragons with him, told me that Friedmann once showed him architectural floor plans for a citadel that Friedmann’s thief-rogue avatar would oversee. —James Verini, New Yorker, 2 Mar. 2026

Jeremy Blake released a trilogy of animations about San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House, the Victorian citadel built by a gun heiress to keep out the ghosts of those killed with her rifles. —Rachel Wetzler, Artforum, 1 Feb. 2026

The tiny, wooded citadel is the northernmost Stone Age stronghold anywhere in Eurasia. —Literary Hub, 26 Jan. 2026

The area was once a citadel complex in the time of King Herod, who ruled from 37 to 5 B.C. after he was appointed king of Judea by the Romans. —Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 11 Dec. 2025

Word History

Etymology

Middle French citadelle, from Old Italian cittadella, diminutive of cittade city, from Medieval Latin civitat-, civitas — more at city

First Known Use

1542, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for citadel

• bagatelle
• caravel
• carousel
• carrousel
• clientele
• commonweal
• decibel
• demoiselle
• fontanelle
• infidel
• isabel
• machiavel

Kids Definition

citadel

noun

cit·​a·​del ˈsit-əd-ᵊl 

-ə-ˌdel

1

: a fortress that sits high above a city

2

: a strong fortress