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
  • So, rather than castles and stony ramparts, visitors encounter farms and sleepy villages.
    — Rick Steves, Washington Post, 1 Nov. 2026
  • 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
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
  • The Alamo is the fort that was under siege by the Mexican army for 13 days in 1836, killing more than 150.
    — Caroline Linton, CBS News, 2 Nov. 2026
  • Now a state park, the first fort on this peninsula was established in the 1630s.
    — Elisabeth Garber-Paul, Rolling Stone, 29 Oct. 2026
Definition of fort
Noun
  • Tesla touted the car as a rolling fortress that could tow 14,000 pounds and withstand hits from sledgehammers and even firearms.
    — Mary Cunningham, CBS News, 6 Nov. 2026
  • Business-wise, these pioneers were buoyed by the sluggish response to the internet by legacy newspapers and magazines, whose fortress mentality only accelerated their disruption.
    — Dade Hayes, Deadline, 5 Nov. 2026
Definition of fortress
Noun
  • During the Nazi occupation of France, Germany began building the Atlantic Wall, a series of defensive fortifications stretching along the coast from Spain to Norway.
    — Shahnaz Bashir, The Conversation, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Houses were rebuilt over the remains of earlier houses, incorporating old walls and materials into new construction; basilicas became churches and churches became mosques; obsolete city walls and fortifications became boulevards and promenades.
    — Julian Rose, Artforum, 1 Nov. 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 Senate, where Republicans enjoyed a 53-47 advantage, should have been the GOP’s bulwark.
    — Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 4 Nov. 2026
  • Eisenkot is viewed by supporters as a capable leader with sterling security credentials who, along with his likely governing partners, could act as a bulwark against creeping illiberalism.
    — Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 28 Oct. 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 9 Nov. 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 wabi-sabi

See Definitions and Examples »

Popular in Grammar & Usage

See More

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

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

'Affect' vs. 'Effect'

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

What's the difference between 'fascism' and 'socialism'?
See More

Popular in Wordplay

See More

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

9 Words That Sound Like Insults But Aren't

7 Words for Old-Timey Vehicles

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

How to Use 'Who' vs. 'Whom'

Great Big List of Beautiful and Useless Words, Vol. 5

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
woman sitting on floor holding book in front of her face on pink background
Famous Novels, Last Lines Quiz Needless to say, spoiler alert.
See All