breastwork

noun

Definition of breastworknext
as in parapet

Related Words

Relevance

Example Sentences

Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to show current usage. Read More Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of breastwork More than a third of the 650-member force fell dead or wounded taking the Confederate breastworks. — Bill Steiden, Des Moines Register, 24 Mar. 2026 The infantrymen around him peeped painfully over the heap of dirt that substituted for a breastwork. — Literary Hub, 9 Jan. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for breastwork
  1. parapet
  2. rampart
  3. earthwork
  4. fort
  5. fortress
  6. fortification
  7. battlement
  8. bulwark
Noun
  • Far from the safety of the Archives where Scribes record the history of Navarre and keep records, Violet walks the parapet to bond with a dragon and undertake the very dangerous and highly fatal occupation.
    — Dessi Gomez, Deadline, 15 Oct. 2026
  • The persona non grata formerly known as Prince Andrew is suddenly feeling emboldened, poking his head over the parapet of Marsh Farm, a relatively modest five-bedroom farmhouse on the King’s Sandringham Estate, in Norfolk.
    — Ashley Baker, Air Mail, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of parapet
Noun
  • There are also plenty of literary peers repping the ramparts, from Sophie Kemp to Patricia Lockwood to Zadie Smith.
    — Brittany Allen, Literary Hub, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The compact coastal town is known for its whitewashed medina, brightly painted murals and imposing Portuguese-era ramparts overlooking the ocean.
    — Jamie Carter, Space.com, 10 Oct. 2026
Definition of rampart
Noun
  • Settlers there were finding thousands of ancient Native mounds and earthworks, some bafflingly large.
    — Daniel Immerwahr, New Yorker, 28 Sep. 2026
  • As an earthwork with a wooden palisade, however, much less of Antonius’s wall has survived the ensuing millennia.
    — Matthew Wills, JSTOR Daily, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of earthwork
Noun
  • Black public figures mingle with slave forts and the most vaunted creations of high art.
    — Carolina A. Miranda, Los Angeles Times, 20 Oct. 2026
  • In Stone Town, palaces, forts, and winding streets speak to centuries of trade across the Indian Ocean.
    — Cherri Briggs, Travel + Leisure, 13 Oct. 2026
Definition of fort
Noun
  • According to the brand, these mushrooms were actually found growing in the cellar of the nearby Wilhelmsburg fortress, so the team decided to use them to add some umami flavor to the gin.
    — Jonah Flicker, Robb Report, 21 Oct. 2026
  • The Roman city of Cologne and a legionary fortress in Bonn were also nearby — raising the possibility of a military connection.
    — Andrea Margolis, FOXNews.com, 11 Oct. 2026
Definition of fortress
Noun
  • Meanwhile, North Korea has been adding mines, barbed wire fences, tactical roads, anti-tank walls and other fortifications to what's already one of the world's most heavily armed borders.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 24 Oct. 2026
  • Last month, two South Korean soldiers were seriously wounded by what Seoul says were North Korean mines planted as part of those fortifications.
    — Anna Coren, CBS News, 22 Oct. 2026
Definition of fortification
Noun
  • The flag flies high over the ancient battlements here, where more than 200 years of history send a proud chill.
    — Jacques Kelly, Baltimore Sun, 1 June 2026
  • Athenry Castle Overlooking the Clarinbridge River in County Galway, 13th-century Athenry Castle still retains parts of its medieval walls, battlements, and decorative stone carvings.
    — Patricia Doherty, Travel + Leisure, 22 May 2026
Definition of battlement
Noun
  • The automaker is positioning this new lineup as its bulwark against the flood of Chinese imports that is currently decimating other European brands.
    — Andrew J. Hawkins, The Verge, 7 Oct. 2026
  • Yet the episode also offered evidence of how natural resources provide a bulwark against an adversarial White House.
    — Alexis Akwagyiram, semafor.com, 21 Sep. 2026
Definition of bulwark

Browse Nearby Words

breasts
breastwork
breastworks
See all Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“Breastwork.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/breastwork. Accessed 25 Oct. 2026.

Copy Citation
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences

More from Merriam-Webster

Word of the Day

Listen to the pronunciation of emissary

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

'Can' vs. 'May'

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

More Commonly Mispronounced Words

Is it 'nerve-racking' or 'nerve-wracking'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

The Words of the Week - Oct. 23

Even More Bird Names that Sound Like Insults (and Sometimes Are)

12 Lovely and Unusual Words for the Natural World
See More

Popular

See More

Merriam-Webster’s Great Big List of Words You Love to Hate

The Longest Long Words List

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't
See More

Games & Quizzes

See All
Play Quordle: Guess all four words in a limited number of tries. Each of your guesses must be a real 5-letter word.
Quordle Can you solve 4 words at once?
Play Blossom: Solve today's spelling word game by finding as many words as you can using just 7 letters. Longer words score more points.
Blossom Pick the best words!
Play Missing Letter: a crossword with a twist. Each of the 25 puzzle words start with a different letter of the alphabet. Which letter is missing?
The Missing Letter A daily crossword with a twist
different halloween monsters in silhouette
A Monstrous Vocab Quiz Words That Go Bump in the Night
See All