Definition of: fortification

(fôr′tə·fə·kā′shən) noun
1. The act, art, or science of fortifying.
2. A military defensive work; a fort.
3. A strengthening of any kind. Synonyms: castle, citadel, fastness, fort, fortress, stronghold. Fortification is the general word for any artificial defensive work; a fortress is a fortification of especial size and strength, regarded as permanent, and ordinarily an independent work; a fort or fortification may be temporary; a fortification may be but part of a defensive system; we speak of the fortifications of a city. A citadel is a fortification within a city, or the fortified inner part of a city, or a fortress within which a garrison may be placed to overawe the citizens, or to which the defenders may retire if the outer works are captured; the medieval castle was the fortified residence of a king or baron. Fort is the common military term for a detached fortified building or enclosure of moderate size occupied or designed to be occupied by troops. The fortifications of a modern city usually consist of a chain of forts. Any defensible place, whether made so by nature or by art, is a fastness or stronghold. See RAMPART.