Garrison Meaning
/ˈɡæɹ.ɪ.sən/Definition, CEFR level C1, pronunciation, examples, and quiz.
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Definition
nounA permanent military post.
nounThe troops stationed at such a post.
Sentence Examples
The garrison was forced to surrender.
The garrison saw no choice but to surrender.
Synonyms & Antonyms
Synonyms:
Antonyms:
None
CEFR Practice Quiz
The troops were ordered to protect the ____ from the attacking enemy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The army maintained a strong ____ at the border to protect the country from any potential foreign invasions.
Word Origin & History
From Middle English garisoun, garysoun, from Old French garison, guarison, from guarir + -ison, ultimately of Germanic origin; thus a doublet of warison. Compare guard, ward; the modern meaning is influenced by (now obsolete) garnison.
Literary Quotations & Historical Citations
"My Lord the great Commander of the worlde, […]
Hath now in armes ten thouſand Ianiſaries, […]
And for the expedition of this war,
If he thinke good, can from his garriſons,
UUithdraw as many more to follow him."
— c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC; reprinted as Tamburlaine the Great (A Scolar Press Facsimile), Menston, Yorkshire; London: Scolar Press, 1973, →ISBN, Act III, scene iii:
"For a time, it was the only Royalist stronghold between London and Exeter, but it fell at last when a member of the garrison turned traitor and admitted the Parliamentary besiegers who destroyed it with gunpowder."
— 1980, AA Book of British Villages, Drive Publications Ltd, page 134, about Corfe Castle:
"“I came down like a wolf on the fold, didn’t I ? Why didn’t I telephone ? Strategy, my dear boy, strategy. This is a surprise attack, and I’d no wish that the garrison, forewarned, should escape. …”"
— 1913, Robert Barr, chapter 4, in Lord Stranleigh Abroad:
"Nor was he content with thus strongly garrisoning the fort, but he likewise added exceedingly to its strength by furnishing it with a formidable battery of quaker guns—rearing a stupendous flag-staff in the centre which overtopped the whole city—and moreover by building a great windmill on one of the bastions."
— 1809, Diedrich Knickerbocker [pseudonym; Washington Irving], chapter III, in A History of New York, from the Beginning of the World to the End of the Dutch Dynasty. […], volume I, New York, N.Y.: Inskeep & Bradford, […], →OCLC, book IV, page 216:
Explore More C1 Vocabulary Words
CEFR Practice Quiz
The troops were ordered to protect the ____ from the attacking enemy.
CEFR Practice Quiz (Alternate)
The army maintained a strong ____ at the border to protect the country from any potential foreign invasions.