forts

1. 1
   noun

   Plural of fort.

   The army built a line of forts along the border to guard the mountain passes.

   Fur traders met trappers at the forts scattered across the northern wilderness.

   Note

   Few plurals cover more ground: forts can be strongholds manned by troops, permanent army posts, the historical trading stations of British North America, or the dens children improvise from furniture and bedding. Context picks the sense. The same spelling is also the present-tense verb, so in the army forts on the ridge the word is doing different work from the forts along the border.

2. 2
   verb

   Third-person singular present of fort.

   Before dark, the column forts on the ridge, digging trenches and piling stones into a low wall.

   Whenever scouts report raiders nearby, the patrol forts at the river crossing and waits for help.

   Note

   The verb names the work of putting up defenses on the spot, anything from a full fort to a single strong point or redoubt. A unit of soldiers is the natural subject and the place follows a preposition, so the column forts on the ridge and the patrol forts at the river crossing.

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