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

Over time, the platform became a bastion of the right-wing internet. —Kat Tenbarge, NBC News, 30 Nov. 2024

With the right financing, Indigenous peoples can continue to serve as bastions against climate change. —Yaakov Katz, Newsweek, 28 Nov. 2024

The Unseelie Court is the bastion of malevolent faeries who harm humans for their amusement or to exact revenge. —Erik Kain, Forbes, 27 Nov. 2024

Arizona's west desert:A California company wants to use Arizona groundwater to make 'green hydrogen' fuel Water in the canal, but not for the town Bouse is a stubborn bastion of humanity in a world of creosote, mountains and cows. —Austin Corona, The Arizona Republic, 25 Nov. 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