bulwark UK /ˈbʊl.wək/US /ˈbʊl.wɚk/noun 5verb 2forms 3 noun5 •A defensive wall or rampart.Let thousands die, their slaughtered Carkasses Shal serue for walles and bulwarkes to the rest: — 1587 •A defense or safeguard.The royal navy of England hath ever been its greatest defence, […] the floating bulwark of the island. — 1765 •(figurative) Any means of defence or security.The party stalwarts constitute the bulwark that ensures the president's term of office. •The planking or plating along the sides of a nautical vessel above her gunwale that reduces the likelihood of seas washing over the gunwales and people being washed overboard.Entering that gable-ended Spouter-Inn, you found yourself in a wide, low, straggling entry with old-fashioned wainscots, reminding one of the bulwarks of some condemned old craft. — 1851 •A breakwater. verb2 •To fortify something with a wall or rampart. •To provide protection of defense for something. formsbulwarked · bulwarking · bulwarks
