garrison

noun gar·ri·son \ ˈger-ə-sən , ˈga-rə- \

Updated on: 3 Apr 2018

Definition of garrison

1 : a military post; especially : a permanent military installation

2 : the troops stationed at a garrison

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Examples of garrison in a Sentence

a garrison of 5,000 men

Recent Examples of garrison from the Web

In critical condition, Yousafzai was flown to the garrison city of Rawalpindi before being airlifted to Birmingham in Britain.

— muir ahmed and sherin zada, The Christian Science Monitor, "Malala returns home with promise to continue fighting for girls' education," 29 Mar. 2018
Mark Dombroski, a freshman at Saint Joseph's University in Philadelphia, was found dead Monday in a dry moat at Fort Prospect, the former home of a British infantry garrison.

— eliie kaufman, CNN, "Pathologist says US student visiting Bermuda died from fall," 22 Mar. 2018
Two Army deserters, Mathew Ratmore and John Ayres, were captured in 1789 and brought back to Fort Washington, where a small garrison watched over the frontier.

— dan horn, Cincinnati.com, "Yes, we used to hang people on Fifth Street: A brief history of Cincinnati executions," 15 Feb. 2018
Afzal Aman, commander of the city’s military garrison, confirmed the attack in the area of the Marshal Fahim academy.

— amir shah, The Seattle Times, "Officials: 5 soldiers killed in attack on Afghan army unit," 28 Jan. 2018
Given its location near the borders of Syria, Jordan, and Iraq, the At Tanf garrison is seen as a key strategic location as the US, Iran and Russia compete for influence in the region.

— ryan browne, CNN, "Exclusive: US troops and Syrian forces battle ISIS near key base," 14 Dec. 2017
The Bolshevik-run Military Revolutionary Committee began making demands for greater control of the army, and the Petrograd garrison promised to support the MRC.

— olga ingurazova, Smithsonian, "What Ever Happened to the Russian Revolution?," 29 Sep. 2017
In 2016, Taliban leader Mullah Mansour was killed by a U.S. drone strike inside Pakistan and in 2011, al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden was found and killed by U.S. troops in the garrison town of Abbottabad.

— NBC News, "Following Trump tweet, U.S. to withhold $255 million in aid from Pakistan," 2 Jan. 2018
In 1959, the year Mustapha was born, the northeastern city of Maiduguri was a British imperial garrison in the last year of colonial rule.

— drew hinshaw, WSJ, "Freedom for the World’s Most Famous Hostages Came at a Heavy Price," 24 Dec. 2017

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

Origin and Etymology of garrison

Middle English garisoun "wealth, gift, tribute, protection, fortified place, body of soldiers," borrowed from Anglo-French garisun "protection, cure, income, supplies," from garir "to support, protect, cure" (going back to Old Low Franconian *warjan "to defend, prevent," going back to Germanic *warjan-) + -isun, deverbal noun suffix, going back to Latin -ītiōn-, -ītiō, from -ī-, verb stem formative + -tiōn-, -tiō, suffix of verbal action — more at weir

Note: The Middle English sense "fortified place, body of soldiers" reflects confusion with Middle English garnisoun and Anglo-French garnisun "fortified place, body of armed men stationed in such a place," from Anglo-French garnir "to give notice, equip, arm, fortify" (see ¹garnish) + the same suffix seen in garisun.

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First Known Use: 15th century

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Other Military Terms

bivouac, logistics, petard, salient, sally, supernumerary, tactical

garrison

verb

Definition of garrison

garrisoned; garrisoning play \ˈger-ə-s(ə-)niŋ, ˈga-rə-\

transitive verb

1 : to station troops in

2 a : to assign as a garrison

b : to occupy with troops

See garrison defined for English-language learners

Recent Examples of garrison from the Web

Brennan’s version of Moscow is Vershinin (a charismatic Chiké Johnson), commander of the troops garrisoned in town and quixotic seeker – in a play filled with them, each one given texture by Brown’s excellent ensemble – for the meaning of existence.

— mike fischer, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "'Three Sisters' yearn for a better life, against the odds," 14 Aug. 2017
A fortress built between the 11th and 14th century helped the friars withstand pirates, Saracen attacks and occupation by Spanish raiders, until Louis XIV garrisoned the island in the 1600s.

— jennifer ladonne, CNN, "Cannes day trips: The island retreats of Îles de Lérins," 24 May 2017