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The refugees gathered in a hilly redoubt several miles outside the city.
a massive stone redoubt at the entrance of the bay guarded the city
These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'redoubt.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Based on its spelling, you might think that "redoubt" shares its origin with words such as "doubt" and "redoubtable," both of which derive from a Latin verb, dubitare. But that's not the case. "Redoubt" actually derives via French and Italian from a different Latin verb - reducere, meaning "to lead back," the same root that gives us "reduce." How that "b" ended up in "redoubt" is a lingering question, but some etymologists have posited that the word might have been conflated with another "redoubt" - a now-archaic transitive verb meaning "to regard with awe, dismay, or dread." Unlike its homographic twin, that "redoubt" does derive from the same root as "doubt" and "redoubtable."
: a small building or area that gives protection to soldiers under attack
: a safe or protected place
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