as in fortress
a structure or place from which one can resist attack
the island was the pirates' last stronghold in the West Indies
Synonyms & Similar Words
Relevance
Example Sentences
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Recent Examples of stronghold
Illinois and Chicago are high-tax, big-promise blue strongholds with long, tawdry histories of waste, fraud, patronage, insider deals and blatant corruption.
—
Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
That response has gone well beyond the Shia strongholds and has displaced one million people who might never be able to go home.
—Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
The protests even drew thousands of people in some GOP strongholds.
—David Cortright, The Conversation, 26 Mar. 2026
San Rafael traces its roots from Coast Miwok communities to a Spanish mission outpost in the early 1800s and has grown into a diverse, economic hub and working-class stronghold of about 60,000 at the southeast end of Ross Valley with a toehold on San Pablo Bay.
—Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stronghold
Andy Shaw, Chicago Tribune, 26 Mar. 2026
That response has gone well beyond the Shia strongholds and has displaced one million people who might never be able to go home.
—Alvaro Vargas Llosa, Oc Register, 26 Mar. 2026
The protests even drew thousands of people in some GOP strongholds.
—David Cortright, The Conversation, 26 Mar. 2026
San Rafael traces its roots from Coast Miwok communities to a Spanish mission outpost in the early 1800s and has grown into a diverse, economic hub and working-class stronghold of about 60,000 at the southeast end of Ross Valley with a toehold on San Pablo Bay.
—Julie Johnson, San Francisco Chronicle, 26 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for stronghold
Recent Examples of Synonyms for stronghold
Noun
-
Murad Bakhsh, who served as Aurangzeb’s ally in his campaign against Dara Shikoh, was arrested and confined in the fortress of Gwalior.—
Tamanna Nangia,
Encyclopedia Britannica,
2 Apr. 2026
-
Visit clothing boutiques like Muses Corfu for something locally made, take a tour through the fortress, and stop in at Coconela for an artisanal coffee.—
Stacey Leasca,
Travel + Leisure,
1 Apr. 2026
Noun
-
Military engineers resorted to building lower, thicker ramparts, backed by earth, and sought to eliminate blind spots by building angular bastions — the aforementioned extrusions.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
-
Malls in the Gulf have been a bastion of normalcy amid the instability, although footfall is substantially down on usual levels.—
Kelsey Warner,
semafor.com,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
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
-
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
-
Mission Foods began fortification in 2024.—
CNN Money,
CNN Money,
30 Mar. 2026
-
That view contrasts sharply with critics — including some at the highest level of government — who regard fortification of the food supply as a form of government overreach.—
ABC News,
ABC News,
29 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
And the staff are available up to nine hours a day to lead on-property animal rescue adventures and oversee sand-castle building on the two private beaches.—
Condé Nast,
Condé Nast Traveler,
29 Mar. 2026
-
Two dozen disciples who have gathered in this large white space within a 19th-century Scottish castle ruminate with total concentration.—
Séamas O'Reilly,
Vulture,
26 Mar. 2026
Noun
-
The resulting star forts (so called because of their multiple fortified extrusions) solved a technological crisis.—
Big Think,
Big Think,
27 Mar. 2026
-
The fort stood high above the river, where fearsome artillery was able to turn back the Union gunboats that had pounded low-lying Fort Henry into submission.—
Bill Steiden,
Des Moines Register,
24 Mar. 2026
Cite this Entry
“Stronghold.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/stronghold. Accessed 4 Apr. 2026.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
