1
: a projecting part of a fortification
a bastion at each of the fort's five corners
2
: a fortified area or position
bombing island bastions
3
: stronghold sense 2
the last bastion of academic standards—
Amer. Scientist
Amer. Scientist
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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
While some people may see certain platforms as a breeding ground for hate speech, others may see them as the last bastion of free speech.
—Expert Panel®, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
The venue was City College in Harlem, a working class bastion of higher education that’s been minting Nobel laureates and business tycoons for more than a century.
—Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024
Oh is a case study in the difficulties that an Asian-American conservative might face in his political career, especially in a city that, unlike the Vietnamese bastions of Garden Grove and Westminster in Orange County, is less than 10 percent Asian.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
As the last remaining bastion of sanity, patience, and responsibility in the self-sabotaging Meyerowitz clan, Stiller is heartbreakingly real.
—Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bastion 
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Expert Panel®, Forbes, 1 Nov. 2024
The venue was City College in Harlem, a working class bastion of higher education that’s been minting Nobel laureates and business tycoons for more than a century.
—Dan Morrison, USA TODAY, 24 Oct. 2024
Oh is a case study in the difficulties that an Asian-American conservative might face in his political career, especially in a city that, unlike the Vietnamese bastions of Garden Grove and Westminster in Orange County, is less than 10 percent Asian.
—Yiyun Li, Harper's Magazine, 23 Oct. 2024
As the last remaining bastion of sanity, patience, and responsibility in the self-sabotaging Meyerowitz clan, Stiller is heartbreakingly real.
—Sean Malin, Vulture, 5 Sep. 2024
See all Example Sentences for bastion
Dictionary Entries Near bastion
Cite this Entry
“Bastion.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/bastion. Accessed 22 Nov. 2024.
Copy CitationKids Definition
bastion
noun
bas·tion
ˈbas-chən 
: some place or something that gives protection against attack
a bastion of democracy
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