stronghold

noun

strong·​hold ˈstrȯŋ-ˌhōld 

1

: a fortified place

2

a

: a place of security or survival

… one of the last strongholds of the ancient Gaelic language …

—George Holmes

b

: a place dominated by a particular group or marked by a particular characteristic

a Republican/Democratic stronghold

strongholds of snobbery

—Lionel Trilling

Synonyms of stronghold

• fortress
• bastion
• citadel
• fortification
• castle
• fort

Examples of stronghold in a Sentence

The area is a Republican stronghold.

The rebels retreated to their mountain stronghold.

the last stronghold of the endangered deer

Recent Examples on the Web

In recent years, the Army shifted more of its recruiting effort into large Democratic-leaning cities after traditional recruiting strongholds in the South, rural America and the suburbs could no longer produce enough qualified volunteers. — Steven Beynon, ABC News, 17 Aug. 2026

To a lesser extent, Republicans have traditionally also had districts that were unopposed in their strongholds with longtime incumbents. — Christopher Keating, Hartford Courant, 13 Aug. 2026

In Michigan, Abdul El-Sayed dominated college towns and university counties, while Haley Stevens won more than 60% in Detroit and carried traditional Democratic strongholds. — Andrew Cuomo, New York Daily News, 13 Aug. 2026

Ultimately, Farage decided that his party would only run candidates in areas that had traditionally been strongholds for Labour, in hopes of peeling off voters who couldn’t bring themselves to vote for Conservatives. — Nick Tabor, Encyclopedia Britannica, 11 Aug. 2026

Word History

First Known Use

15th century, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for stronghold

• ahold
• behold
• billfold
• blindfold
• cajoled
• consoled
• controlled
• cotswold
• eightfold
• enfold
• enrolled
• extolled

Kids Definition

stronghold

noun

strong·​hold ˈstrȯŋ-ˌhōld 

: fortress