: a fortified place : stronghold
especially
: a large and permanent fortification sometimes including a town
Synonyms
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
The old train car was found during excavations of a 19th-century fortress known as the Northern Citadel, according to a statement from LNER.
—
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
The impossible part is because the lovers' adventure takes place in a locked fortress of a museum, Bilbao's famous Guggenheim; the lovers walk in after hours through massive doors that, well, just open for them.
—Marcela Davison Aviles, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Tour the fortresses, stroll through the town’s central market, and visit Spianada Square, the largest square in Greece.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2024
Ultimately, the whites-only fortress of Warren and surrounding Macomb County would crumble, overwhelmed by the consequences of self-defeating choices made decades before.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024
Their kids navigate their trauma from Oct. 7 by being with each other, playing hide-and-seek and making fortresses.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
The second fortress, the Lower Doluca Castle, has many similar geographical features, and was also found atop a hillside.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024
Rihanna Is Dabbling in the Rich Grandma Aesthetic By Daniel Rodgers
Andalucía is a mille-feuille of civilizations and cultures; however, its top attractions are the towering fortresses, monumental mosques, and awe-inspiring palaces constructed during the Moors’ 800-year rule.
—Siobhan Reid, Vogue, 27 Mar. 2024
Some of these properties offer a single room within the castle while others offer the entire fortress all for you.
—Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024
Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
The impossible part is because the lovers' adventure takes place in a locked fortress of a museum, Bilbao's famous Guggenheim; the lovers walk in after hours through massive doors that, well, just open for them.
—Marcela Davison Aviles, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Tour the fortresses, stroll through the town’s central market, and visit Spianada Square, the largest square in Greece.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2024
Ultimately, the whites-only fortress of Warren and surrounding Macomb County would crumble, overwhelmed by the consequences of self-defeating choices made decades before.
—Seyward Darby, Longreads, 9 Jan. 2024
Their kids navigate their trauma from Oct. 7 by being with each other, playing hide-and-seek and making fortresses.
—William Booth, Washington Post, 6 Apr. 2024
The second fortress, the Lower Doluca Castle, has many similar geographical features, and was also found atop a hillside.
—Irene Wright, Miami Herald, 1 Apr. 2024
Rihanna Is Dabbling in the Rich Grandma Aesthetic By Daniel Rodgers
Andalucía is a mille-feuille of civilizations and cultures; however, its top attractions are the towering fortresses, monumental mosques, and awe-inspiring palaces constructed during the Moors’ 800-year rule.
—Siobhan Reid, Vogue, 27 Mar. 2024
Some of these properties offer a single room within the castle while others offer the entire fortress all for you.
—Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 15 Mar. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fortress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fortress
Cite this Entry
“Fortress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fortress. Accessed 23 Apr. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fortress
noun
for·tress
ˈfȯr-trəs 
: a fortified place
Love words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share