fort

/fɔrt/

/fɔt/

Other forms: forts; forted; forting

A fort is a place that's made strong and secure enough to be defended during a war. Although it’s usually a military word, you can also make a fort with chairs and a blanket to defend against annoying little siblings.

A fort can also be called a fortress or a fortification, although typically a fortress describes a larger structure or a series of structures, while a fort is usually only one. All of these words come from the Latin word fortis for "strong, mighty, or brave.” Traditionally, forts have been strongly defended, with thick stone walls and other elements protecting them from invaders. Today in the US, some forts are simply military bases. Others are simply in the living room.

Definitions of fort

1. noun

   a fortified defensive structure
   synonyms: fortress

   examples:

   Alhambra

   a fortified Moorish palace built near Granada by Muslim kings in the Middle Ages

   Bastille

   a fortress built in Paris in the 14th century and used as a prison in the 17th and 18th centuries; it was destroyed July 14, 1789 at the start of the French Revolution

   Tower of London

   a fortress in London on the Thames; used as a palace and a state prison and now as a museum containing the crown jewels

   Machu Picchu

   Inca fortress city in the Andes in Peru discovered in 1911; it may have been built in the 15th century

   types:

   alcazar

   any of various Spanish fortresses or palaces built by the Moors

   martello tower

   a circular masonry fort for coastal defence

   presidio

   a fortress established in the southwestern United States by the Spanish in order to protect their missions and other holdings

   sconce

   a small fort or earthwork defending a ford, pass, or castle gate

   type of:

   defence, defense, defensive structure

   a structure used to defend against attack
2. noun

   a fortified military post where troops are stationed
   synonyms: garrison

   examples:

   Fort George Gordon Meade

   a United States Army base in Maryland; headquarters of the National Security Agency

   type of:

   military post, post

   military installation at which a body of troops is stationed
3. verb

   enclose by or as if by walls around a stronghold
   synonyms: fortify

   types:

   trench

   fortify by surrounding with trenches

   embattle

   fortify by furnishing with battlements for defense

   type of:

   close in, enclose, inclose, shut in

   surround completely
4. verb

   station (troops) in a fort
   type of:

   place, post, send, station

   assign to a station
5. verb

   gather in, or as if in, a fort, as for protection or defense
   synonyms: fort up

   type of:

   assemble, foregather, forgather, gather, meet

   collect in one place