HOW TO PRONOUNCE
bastille
/bæˈstil/
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American Pronunciation Guide · 1:05
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What does bastille mean?
noun
- Chiefly in French contexts: a bastion (“projecting part of a rampart or other fortification”) or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.
- (figuratively) A jail or prison, especially one regarded as mistreating its prisoners.
verb
- (figuratively) To confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille (noun sense 2.1) or prison; to imprison.
More meanings (3)
proper noun
- A former fortress and prison in Paris, France, the storming of which in 1789 began the French Revolution.
noun
- (derogatory, figuratively) Synonym of workhouse (“an institution for homeless poor people funded by the local parish, where the able-bodied were required to work”).
- (historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.
Definitions regrouped for readability · CC BY-SA 4.0
IPA pronunciation
/bæˈstil/
Wiktionary contributors · CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗Pronunciation varies by speaker and region. About these dictionary pronunciations.
In the pages of books
See this word in context.
In the exercise of his skill, the appearance and the story of the Bastille Captive removed him from all other men.
The procession proceeded, with feverish slowness, from the house of the deceased, by way of the boulevards as far as the Bastille.
More book examples (3)
"Sometimes I try to pretend it is another kind of place; but the Bastille is generally easiest--particularly when it is cold."
The taking of the Bastille was the beginning of one of those phenomena of mental contagion which abound in the history of the Revolution.
Saint-Sauver, at that time Lieutenant of the Bastille, put a close watch on this man and certified to the verity of the fast.