Meaning

A defensive wall or rampart..

Definitions by Sense

1. A defensive wall or rampart.
2. A defense or safeguard.
3. A breakwater.
4. (nautical) The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard.
5. (figurative) Any means of defence or security.
6. (transitive) To fortify something with a wall or rampart.
7. (transitive) To provide protection of defense for something.

Example Sentences

Let thouſands die, their ſlaughtered Carkaſſes Shal ſerue for walles and bulwarkes to the reſt:

The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence, […] the floating bulwark of the island.

Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft.

The party stalwarts constitute the bulwark that ensures the president's term of office.

Willing to upend the nation’s postwar role as a bulwark against authoritarianism, he promises to usher in a foreign policy rooted in “America First” transactionalism.

Word Forms

• bulwarks
• bulwarking
• bulwarked

Synonyms for bulwark

Related Words

When Should You Use Bulwark?

Use bulwark when its meaning, tone and grammar fit the full sentence. A synonym is not always a direct replacement.

Practice This Word

Frequently Asked Questions