Definition

1. Verb:
   • To garrison; to guard; to defend: To station troops or forces at a strategically important location (like a border, fortress, or pass) in order to protect it, maintain control, and prevent invasion or attack. This is the core military and administrative meaning.
   • To keep; to hold; to secure: To maintain control or possession over a place, position, or thing, ensuring its safety and stability.

Usage Examples

• Verb:
  • Một đơn vị quân đội được cử đến để trấn giữ vùng biên giới. (An army unit was sent to garrison the border region.)
  • Thành trì này đã được trấn giữ vững chắc suốt nhiều tháng. (This fortress was firmly defended for many months.)
  • Anh ấy có nhiệm vụ trấn giữ vị trí then chốt này. (His duty is to hold this key position.)

Advanced Usage

• The word carries a formal and authoritative tone, often used in historical, military, or official contexts related to territorial control and sovereignty.
• It implies a sense of active, vigilant, and often long-term responsibility over a specific area.

Variants and Related Words

• Trấn thủ (v): A very close synonym, also meaning to garrison or defend a territory. The nuance can sometimes emphasize defensive guarding.
• Canh giữ (v): To guard, to watch over. This is more general and can apply to smaller areas or objects, lacking the large-scale administrative connotation of "trấn giữ".
• Bảo vệ (v): To protect. A broader, more common term for protection in various contexts, not specifically military garrisoning.

Synonyms

• Garrison: To station troops in a place to defend it.
• Defend: To protect from harm or attack.
• Guard: To watch over and protect.
• Hold: To keep possession or control of.

Related Idioms

• Trấn giữ non sông: To defend the country. This is a patriotic idiom referring to the duty of protecting the nation's territory.
  • Những người lính đang ngày đêm trấn giữ non sông. (The soldiers are defending the country day and night.)

verb

1. to keep, to defend