as in fortress
a structure or place from which one can resist attack
the island was the pirates' last stronghold in the West Indies
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Recent Examples of stronghold
More damning is last week’s UMBC poll, which shows his approval rating in Maryland dropping precipitously, an unexpected slide in what has long been a sleepy Democratic stronghold.
—
Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Aeroméxico, meanwhile, has a stronghold in routes originating from Mexico City’s primary airport.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Some Senate races in what should be Republican strongholds are suddenly looking tighter that expected.
—Nancy Cook, Bloomberg, 7 Apr. 2026
The captain had reportedly appealed to the sultan for reinforcements, hoping to fortify Goa and, from that stronghold, expel the Portuguese from India so that the spice trade might once again flow via the Red Sea route toward Mecca and Cairo.
—Sanat Pai Raikarall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stronghold
Torrey Snow, Baltimore Sun, 9 Apr. 2026
Aeroméxico, meanwhile, has a stronghold in routes originating from Mexico City’s primary airport.
—Bloomberg, Mercury News, 7 Apr. 2026
Some Senate races in what should be Republican strongholds are suddenly looking tighter that expected.
—Nancy Cook, Bloomberg, 7 Apr. 2026
The captain had reportedly appealed to the sultan for reinforcements, hoping to fortify Goa and, from that stronghold, expel the Portuguese from India so that the spice trade might once again flow via the Red Sea route toward Mecca and Cairo.
—Sanat Pai Raikarall, Encyclopedia Britannica, 6 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stronghold
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stronghold
Noun
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At Pembroke Castle, staff say the discovery adds a new dimension to the site's long history as a medieval fortress and birthplace of Henry VII in 1457.—
CBS News,
CBS News,
17 Apr. 2026
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As Oda’s army closes in from outside, a young samurai is murdered within the castle walls, triggering a series of bizarre incidents that throw the fortress into paranoia and suspicion.—
Patrick Brzeski,
HollywoodReporter,
14 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Israeli officials further compounded those fears Wednesday, with Avichay Adraee, Israel’s Arabic-language spokesman, accusing Hezbollah of moving beyond its traditional bastions of support in the southern suburbs of the capital and embedding itself in north Beirut and mixed neighborhoods.—
Nabih Bulos,
Los Angeles Times,
8 Apr. 2026
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And our backstop—for a lot of us, sort of last bastion—was work.—
Charlie Warzel,
The Atlantic,
3 Apr. 2026
Noun
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Craig Proctor, the childhood friend who played Dungeons & Dragons with him, told me that Friedmann once showed him architectural floor plans for a citadel that Friedmann’s thief-rogue avatar would oversee.—
James Verini,
New Yorker,
2 Mar. 2026
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Jeremy Blake released a trilogy of animations about San Jose’s Winchester Mystery House, the Victorian citadel built by a gun heiress to keep out the ghosts of those killed with her rifles.—
Rachel Wetzler,
Artforum,
1 Feb. 2026
Noun
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Over many years, Iran has built underground fortifications and facilities to protect its missile and drone inventory.—
Daniel Kurtzer,
New York Daily News,
5 Apr. 2026
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Mission Foods began fortification in 2024.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Mar. 2026
Noun
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The main difference is that Ruisdael cranes upward, to behold a castle on a hill, whereas Vermeer levels his gaze across open water.—
Anthony Lane,
New Yorker,
13 Apr. 2026
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Her castle is a 90,000-square-foot mansion in the humid reaches of central Florida, styled after the Palace of Versailles.—
Stephanie Bai,
The Atlantic,
12 Apr. 2026
Noun
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These individuals shaped Charleston’s politics and economy by building canals, roads, bridges, forts— virtually all the colony’s infrastructure—but their contributions were not documented and their names are unknown.—
Literary Hub,
Literary Hub,
10 Apr. 2026
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The fort’s archictecture is unusual.—
Anne Doran,
ARTnews.com,
8 Apr. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stronghold.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stronghold. Accessed 17 Apr. 2026.
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