abatis
Americannoun
plural
abatis, abatises-
an obstacle or barricade of trees with bent or sharpened branches directed toward an enemy.
-
a barbed wire entanglement used as an obstacle or barricade against an enemy.
noun
-
a rampart of felled trees bound together placed with their branches outwards
-
a barbed-wire entanglement before a position
Etymology
Origin of abatis
1760–70; < French; Old French abateis < Vulgar Latin *abatteticius, derivative of Old French abattre ( abate )
Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
The defenses consisted of two lines of abatis and a line of earthworks manned by Brig.
From Washington Post
Our men worked their way through the abatis of trees, took the outer line of rifle-pits, and bivouacked within the enemy's lines.
From Project Gutenberg
On the right hand, in particular, were romantic forest scenes; a wilderness of fallen trees, which the floods and storms had thrown and piled upon each other, like an abatis.
From Project Gutenberg
From the fort the ground sloped in a heavy grade, from which the trees had been cut and used as abatis, and wire net-work was stretched between the stumps.
From Project Gutenberg
"The impetuosity of the attack carried all before it, and within nine minutes from the time the abatis was passed the work was gained."
From Project Gutenberg
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
