Definition

1. Noun:
   • A fortified military structure: A "blockhouse" is a small, strong building made from heavy materials like concrete or thick timber, designed to provide protection from enemy fire. It typically has openings (embrasures or loopholes) through which defenders can shoot.

Usage Examples

• Noun:
  • The soldiers took cover in the blockhouse during the artillery barrage.
  • The old coastal defense system included several blockhouses with commanding views of the harbor.

Advanced Usage

• Historical Context: In military history, a "blockhouse" often refers to a standalone fortification used to control a strategic point, such as a river crossing, mountain pass, or frontier.
  • The blockhouse at the river ford was a key position in the frontier wars.

Variants and Related Words

• Bunker (n): A reinforced underground shelter, often for military use. While similar, a bunker is usually more subterranean than a blockhouse.
• Pillbox (n): A small concrete fortification, often a type of modern blockhouse, with embrasures for machine guns.
• Stronghold (n): A general term for a fortified place; a blockhouse is a type of stronghold.

Synonyms

• Fortification: A defensive wall or other reinforcement built to strengthen a place against attack.
• Redoubt: A temporary or supplementary fortification, typically square or polygonal and without flanking defenses.
• Bastion: A projecting part of a fortification built at an angle to the line of a wall, but can also mean a stronghold more broadly.

Related Phrases

• To garrison a blockhouse: To station troops in a blockhouse for its defense.
  • They were ordered to garrison the blockhouse throughout the winter.

Related Idioms

Noun

1. a stronghold that is reinforced for protection from enemy fire; with apertures for defensive fire