bastion

noun

bas·​tion ˈbas-chən 

1

: a projecting part of a fortification

a bastion at each of the fort's five corners

2

: a fortified area or position

bombing island bastions

3

: stronghold sense 2

the last bastion of academic standards

—Amer. Scientist

bastioned

ˈbas-chənd 

adjective

Did you know?

Bastion is related to bastille (a word now used as a general term for a prison, but probably best known as the name of the Parisian fortress-turned-prison stormed by an angry mob at the start of the French Revolution). It comes from the Italian verb bastire, which means "to build."

Synonyms

• castle
• citadel
• fastness
• fort
• fortification
• fortress
• hold
• redoubt
• stronghold

Examples of bastion in a Sentence

the rebel army retreated to its bastion in the mountains to regroup

Recent Examples on the Web

And this isn’t some little bastion of liberal thinking in the middle of Oklahoma. —Bill Goodykoontz, The Arizona Republic, 12 Sep. 2024

To wit, there is an extreme stigma associated with wearing prescription hearing aids because to lose hearing is a signifier of aging and traditional prescription hearing aids are boring beige boxes that aren’t bastions of fashion. —Steven Aquino, Forbes, 11 Sep. 2024

Historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs) have long been a bastion for upward mobility and a port in the storm for Black Americans seeking a place in academia. —Theara Coleman, theweek, 4 Sep. 2024

Today, while the share of white Louisville residents has risen, the West End remains a bastion of Black culture in the city. —Rayna Reid Rayford, Essence, 15 Aug. 2024

Word History

Etymology

borrowed from Middle French, borrowed from Italian bastione, from bastia "small quadrangular fortress" (from an Upper Italian counterpart to Tuscan bastita, from feminine past participle of bastire "to build," probably borrowed from Old Occitan bastir "to weave, build," or its Gallo-Romance ancestor) + -one, augmentative suffix (going back to Latin -ō, -ōn-, suffix of nouns denoting persons with a prominent feature) — more at bastille

First Known Use

1546, in the meaning defined at sense 1

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Kids Definition

bastion

noun

bas·​tion ˈbas-chən 

: some place or something that gives protection against attack

a bastion of democracy