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blockhouse

blockhouse

2 8.5
A small strong building with thick walls and openings for firing guns
  • noun
  • /ˈblɑːkˌhaʊs/
translation icon : fortaleza
  • The soldiers took refuge in a sturdy blockhouse designed to withstand attacks.

Examples

  • 51 Fort Morrow had three blockhouses as well as a surrounding palisade for Bond to examine.

    Academic text (2011)
  • A narrow window looked out on the roadway, where she saw rows of blockhouses across the street.

    Fiction book (2001)
  • Oh, that is the old blockhouse wall.

  • "I'm in the blockhouse," Reason said.

    Fiction book (1991)
  • Sir, in my opinion we need more guards at the blockhouse or the French prisoners are going to escape.

  • Kaunitz was a prisoner in our blockhouse.

  • Evict the schoolmaster and convert his home into a blockhouse.

  • Today, the ruins of the barracks and two blockhouses—the only structures on the island—still remain.

    Blog text (5)
  • Rifle pits, foxholes, antitank guns... ... machine guns, blockhouses, pillboxes, and earth-covered structures.

  • The claim identified barracks for the officers and soldiers, two blockhouses, corn cribs, storage houses, a forge, and stables for 103 horses.

    Academic text (2011)

Synonyms

guardhouse
vsblockhouse
5 4.9

A small building at an entrance where guards stay and sometimes keep prisoners

is focused on fortification for firing rather than housing guards
defensive structure
vsblockhouse
1 3.9

A building or wall built to protect a place from attack

is smaller and specifically fortified with thick walls and firing openings

How Fortified

fortress
106 4.4
fort
153 2.3
blockhouse
2 8.5
shelter
253 1.0

Surface Forms

blockhouse singular
blockhouses plural

Etymology

Blockhouse comes from the two words block ('solid piece') and house ('home'). So a blockhouse is like a small, very strong house built like one solid block to protect people, which is why it means a sturdy building for defense.