abatis

[ ab-uh-tee, -tis, uh-bat-ee, uh-bat-is ]

noun,plural ab·a·tis [ab-uh-teez, uh-bat-eez], /ˈæb əˌtiz, əˈbæt iz/, ab·a·tis·es [ab-uh-tis-iz, uh-bat-uh-siz]. /ˈæb əˌtɪs ɪz, əˈbæt ə sɪz/.
  1. an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.

  2. a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.

Origin of abatis

1
1760–70; <French; Old French abateis<Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre (see abate)

Words Nearby abatis

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use abatis in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for abatis

abatis

abattis

/ (ˈæbətɪs, ˈæbətiː) /


nounfortifications
  1. a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards

  2. a barbed-wire entanglement before a position

Origin of abatis

1
C18: from French, from abattre to fell

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012