: a fortified place : stronghold
especially
: a large and permanent fortification sometimes including a town
Synonyms
Examples of fortress in a Sentence
the boys built a snow fortress and then challenged the neighborhood kids to an in-your-face snowball fight
Recent Examples on the Web
Hamas organized a fighting force and constructed a web of tunnels that some experts have described as the most extensive underground fortress in the history of modern warfare.
—
Tom Segev, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Pain turns my body rigid, an inconvenient fortress.
—Chloé Cooper Jones Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The ruins of an ancient fortress were recently discovered on a small island along the west coast of Ireland.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
Hanuman crosses the sea between India and Lanka, Ravana’s island fortress, in a single leap.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
The abode is positioned on a cul-de-sac and tucked behind a gate, kind of like a modern, monolithic fortress.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2024
The old train car was found during excavations of a 19th-century fortress known as the Northern Citadel, according to a statement from LNER.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
The impossible part is because the lovers' adventure takes place in a locked fortress of a museum, Bilbao's famous Guggenheim; the lovers walk in after hours through massive doors that, well, just open for them.
—Marcela Davison Aviles, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Tour the fortresses, stroll through the town’s central market, and visit Spianada Square, the largest square in Greece.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2024
Tom Segev, Foreign Affairs, 23 Apr. 2024
Pain turns my body rigid, an inconvenient fortress.
—Chloé Cooper Jones Emily Woo Zeller Krish Seenivasan Zachary Mouton, New York Times, 19 Apr. 2024
The ruins of an ancient fortress were recently discovered on a small island along the west coast of Ireland.
—Brendan Rascius, Miami Herald, 5 Apr. 2024
Hanuman crosses the sea between India and Lanka, Ravana’s island fortress, in a single leap.
—Aaron Boorstein, Smithsonian Magazine, 5 Apr. 2024
The abode is positioned on a cul-de-sac and tucked behind a gate, kind of like a modern, monolithic fortress.
—Abby Montanez, Robb Report, 24 Feb. 2024
The old train car was found during excavations of a 19th-century fortress known as the Northern Citadel, according to a statement from LNER.
—Sonja Anderson, Smithsonian Magazine, 15 Apr. 2024
The impossible part is because the lovers' adventure takes place in a locked fortress of a museum, Bilbao's famous Guggenheim; the lovers walk in after hours through massive doors that, well, just open for them.
—Marcela Davison Aviles, NPR, 8 Apr. 2024
Tour the fortresses, stroll through the town’s central market, and visit Spianada Square, the largest square in Greece.
—Stacey Leasca, Travel + Leisure, 16 Jan. 2024
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'fortress.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Dictionary Entries Near fortress
Cite this Entry
“Fortress.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/fortress. Accessed 3 May. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
fortress
noun
for·tress
ˈfȯr-trəs 
: a fortified place
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