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bulwark - 5 dictionary results
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bul⋅wark

  [bool-werk, -wawrk, buhl-]
Use bulwark in a Sentence
–noun
1. a wall of earth or other material built for defense; rampart.
2. any protection against external danger, injury, or annoyance: The new dam was a bulwark against future floods.
3. any person or thing giving strong support or encouragement in time of need, danger, or doubt: Religion was his bulwark.
4. Usually, bulwarks. Nautical. a solid wall enclosing the perimeter of a weather or main deck for the protection of persons or objects on deck.
–verb (used with object)
5. to fortify or protect with a bulwark; secure by or as if by a fortification.
Origin:
1375–1425; late ME bulwerk, prob. < MD bolwerc, equiv. to bol(l)e bole 1 + werk work (n.); cf. boulevard

Synonyms:
3. support, buttress, mainstay.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
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bul·wark   (bŏŏl'wərk, -wôrk', bŭl'-)   
n.  
  1. A wall or embankment raised as a defensive fortification; a rampart.
  2. Something serving as a defense or safeguard: "We have seen the necessity of the Union, as our bulwark against foreign danger" (James Madison).
  3. A breakwater.
  4. The part of a ship's side that is above the upper deck. Often used in the plural.
tr.v.   bul·warked, bul·wark·ing, bul·warks
  1. To fortify with a wall, embankment, or rampart.
  2. To provide defense or protection for.

[Middle English bulwerk, from Middle Dutch bolwerk, from Middle High German bolwerc : bole, plank; see bhel-2 in Indo-European roots + werc, work (from Old High German; see werg- in Indo-European roots).]
Synonyms: These nouns refer literally to structures used as a defense against attack. A bulwark can be a mound of earth, an embankment, or a wall-like fortification. Barricade usually implies hasty construction to meet an imminent threat. Breastwork denotes a low defensive wall, especially a temporary one hurriedly built. Earthwork is a defensive construction of earth. A rampart, the main defensive structure around a guarded place, is permanent, high, and broad. A bastion is a projecting section of a fortification from which defenders have a wide range of view and fire. Parapet applies to any low fortification, typically a wall atop a rampart. Of these words bulwark and bastion are the most frequently used to refer figuratively to something regarded as being a safeguard or a source of protection: "The only sure bulwark of continuing liberty is a government strong enough to protect the interests of the people, and a people strong enough and well enough informed to maintain its sovereign control over its government" (Franklin D. Roosevelt). A free press is one of the bastions of a democracy.
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Bulwark

Bul"wark\, n. [Akin to D. bolwerk, G. bollwerk, Sw. bolwerk, Dan. bolv["a]rk, bulv["a]rk, rampart; akin to G. bohle plank, and werk work, defense. See Bole stem, and Work, n., and cf. Boulevard.]

1. (Fort.) A rampart; a fortification; a bastion or outwork.

2. That which secures against an enemy, or defends from attack; any means of defense or protection.

The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defense, . . . the floating bulwark of our island. --Blackstone.

3. pl. (Naut.) The sides of a ship above the upper deck.

Syn: See Rampart.

Bulwark

Bul"wark\, v. t. [imp. & p. p. Bulwarked; p. pr. & vb.n. Bulwarking.] To fortify with, or as with, a rampart or wall; to secure by fortification; to protect.

Of some proud city, bulwarked round and armed With rising towers. --Glover.
Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary, © 1996, 1998 MICRA, Inc.
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Language Translation for : bulwark
Spanish: baluarte,
German: das Bollwerk,
Japanese: とりで
More Translations »

bulwark 
c.1416, from M.Du. bulwerke or M.H.G. bolwerc, from bole "plank, tree trunk" + werc "work." Figurative sense is from 1577.
Online Etymology Dictionary, © 2001 Douglas Harper
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