Definition of BASTION (original) (raw)
1
: a projecting part of a fortification
a bastion at each of the fort's five corners
2
: a fortified area or position
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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
Examples of bastion in a Sentence
the rebel army retreated to its bastion in the mountains to regroup
Recent Examples on the Web In an era of algorithmic trading and short-term thinking, family offices stand as bastions of patient capital and long-term stewardship. —
Josipa Majic Predin, Forbes, 12 Sep. 2024 These institutions, lauded as bastions of free thinking, have birthed some of the most influential social and political movements throughout history and can shape a generation’s collective ideology. —Rachel Janfaza, Glamour, 5 Sep. 2024 Long a bastion for conservative orthodoxy, the state that sent Barry Goldwater and John McCain to Washington was a consistent gimme for Republicans. —Philip Elliott, TIME, 8 Aug. 2024 Even though Minnesota isn’t considered a swing state in the presidential race, Walz has successfully competed for Republican and independent voters and has led an impressive transformation of Minnesota into a Democratic bastion in recent years. —Dave Goldiner, New York Daily News, 6 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for bastion 
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'bastion.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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
Time Traveler
The first known use of bastion was in 1546
Dictionary Entries Near bastion
Cite this Entry
“Bastion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bastion. Accessed 1 Oct. 2024.
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Last Updated: 28 Sep 2024 - Updated example sentences
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