fortress

Pluralfortresses

Formsfortresses, fortressing, fortressed

1. 1
   strongholdnouncountable

   A large, permanent fortified place, such as a fort or castle, sometimes including a town; more broadly, a stronghold or any place of defense or security.

   The old town grew up inside a hilltop fortress that had guarded the river crossing for centuries.

   One by one, the border fortresses fell to the invading army.

   Similarstronghold, fort, citadel, castle, fortification

   Note

   The literal sense the others build on: the word reached English in the early 1300s through Old French forteresse, from Latin fortis, "strong," the root it shares with fort. Its ending comes from a Latin suffix that made adjectives into nouns of quality, though in Old French it already named a "strong place." A fort is one kind of fortress; the bigger word adds size and permanence, and sometimes a whole town inside its walls.

2. 2
   defendverbtransitive

   To equip a place with one or more fortresses, or to protect and strengthen something against attack.

   Rather than fortress every border town, the general concentrated his troops in three great strongholds.

   A ring of mountains fortresses the valley on three sides.

   Similarfortify, protect, guard, shield, defend

   Note

   The verb is the noun put to work, and it can guard qualities as readily as towns. Shakespeare's Lucrece (1594) says honor and beauty in their owner's arms are "weaklie fortrest from a world of harms", and fortrest is an older spelling of the participle now written fortressed. The verb always takes an object, and it overlaps with fortify while keeping the picture of walls.

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