Illustration of castle
- 1 fortified approach
- 2 moat
- 3 drawbridge
- 4 ward
- 5 angle tower
- 6 donjon or keep
- 7 chapel
- 8 gallery
1
a
: a large fortified building or set of buildings
b
: a massive or imposing house
2
: a retreat safe against intrusion or invasion
3
castled; castling
ˈka-s(ə-)liŋ 
: to move a chess king two squares toward a rook and in the same move the rook to the square next past the king
Synonyms
Examples of castle in a Sentence
Noun
Millionaires built their castles along the lake.
the implacable attackers placed the castle under a prolonged siege
Recent Examples on the Web
Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2024
Previous tours have allowed visitors to explore parts of the estate’s grounds and gardens, but access has always been limited to just one room inside the castle itself.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Mix the tech so the audience has to walk around the castle, find the missing keys and throw axes alongside our protagonists.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
His domain included adobe-and-stone pyramids that towered several stories above the desert; an irrigation system that watered 15,000 acres of crops; and a large castle.
—Kathleen Duval, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024
Researchers have excavated the ruins of a medieval castle buried beneath a French hotel.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
But the most recent castle on the list wasn’t completed until 2007.
—Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The color change is a blow for nostalgic Disney fans everywhere, who see that deep royal blue and immediately think of Cinderella’s castle and the sweeping orchestral introduction to their favorite childhood movie.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 27 Mar. 2024
About 10 feet down, archaeologists found the top of the castle ruins.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Dylan Loeb McClain, New York Times, 27 May 2023
This is the real point of the combination as now Black will not be able to castle and White can pretty much at his leisure, build up an attack.
—Chris Chase, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2018
Now Black cannot castle kingside after Be3 and Qd2.)
—Michael Ciamarra, AL.com, 11 June 2017
Noun
Maybe their sand castles can’t hold back the onrushing tide of NIL and unlimited transfers and the age of entitlement and the professionalization of a once virtuous endeavor and the demise of the educational mission.
—Mark Zeigler, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9 Apr. 2024
Previous tours have allowed visitors to explore parts of the estate’s grounds and gardens, but access has always been limited to just one room inside the castle itself.
—Billy Stockwell, CNN, 5 Apr. 2024
Mix the tech so the audience has to walk around the castle, find the missing keys and throw axes alongside our protagonists.
—William Earl, Variety, 4 Apr. 2024
His domain included adobe-and-stone pyramids that towered several stories above the desert; an irrigation system that watered 15,000 acres of crops; and a large castle.
—Kathleen Duval, The Atlantic, 2 Apr. 2024
Researchers have excavated the ruins of a medieval castle buried beneath a French hotel.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 1 Apr. 2024
But the most recent castle on the list wasn’t completed until 2007.
—Jackie Burrell, The Mercury News, 1 Apr. 2024
The color change is a blow for nostalgic Disney fans everywhere, who see that deep royal blue and immediately think of Cinderella’s castle and the sweeping orchestral introduction to their favorite childhood movie.
—David Pierce, The Verge, 27 Mar. 2024
About 10 feet down, archaeologists found the top of the castle ruins.
—Aspen Pflughoeft, Miami Herald, 26 Mar. 2024
Verb
For example, pawns could not move two squares on their first turn, and there was no similar rule for castling.
—Dylan Loeb McClain, New York Times, 27 May 2023
This is the real point of the combination as now Black will not be able to castle and White can pretty much at his leisure, build up an attack.
—Chris Chase, BostonGlobe.com, 27 May 2018
Now Black cannot castle kingside after Be3 and Qd2.)
—Michael Ciamarra, AL.com, 11 June 2017
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'castle.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Castle.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/castle. Accessed 18 Apr. 2024.
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