fortress

noun

for·​tress ˈfȯr-trəs 

: a fortified place : stronghold

especially : a large and permanent fortification sometimes including a town

fortresslike

ˈfȯr-trəs-līk 

adjective

Synonyms of fortress

• stronghold
• citadel
• fortification
• castle
• bastion
• fort

Examples of fortress in a Sentence

the boys built a snow fortress and then challenged the neighborhood kids to an in-your-face snowball fight

Recent Examples on the Web

And by the turn of the twenty-first century, most of those tiny bungalows had been replaced by sprawling estates—fortresses for the entertainment elite, where Oscar trophies adorned mantels and wealth guarded from disaster. —Literary Hub, 13 May 2026

Its driver, Faisal, could not wait to see his father emerge a free man from this tan-colored fortress. —Dan Barry, New York Times, 12 May 2026

Instead of addressing the domestic crisis, these funds were immediately diverted to cement the regime’s regional fortress — funding the Houthis, Hezbollah and the construction of the tunnel cities. —Liram Koblentz-Stenzler, Chicago Tribune, 11 May 2026

Russian forces have so far been unable to take the whole of the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine where Kyiv's forces have been pushed back to a line of fortress cities. —Guy Faulconbridge, USA Today, 10 May 2026

Word History

Etymology

Middle English forteresse, from Anglo-French fortelesce, forteresse, from Medieval Latin fortalitia, from Latin fortis strong

First Known Use

14th century, in the meaning defined above

Kids Definition

fortress

noun

for·​tress ˈfȯr-trəs 

: a fortified place