Basic Details
Word: Stronghold
Part of Speech: Noun
Meaning: A strong, well-protected place such as a fort. It also means a place where an idea, a team or a group has a lot of support.
Synonyms: fortress, citadel, fort
How to Spell Stronghold
Syllables: strong - hold
Tricky part: It is two whole words joined with no gap and nothing dropped: strong + hold. Students sometimes split it or lose the g.
Watch out for: stronhold, strongholed, strongehold
Memory tip: A fort that is strong can hold out against attack: strong + hold.
Usage Examples
Example 1: The hill fort was the rebels' last stronghold.
Example 2: Kolkata has long been a stronghold of football fans.
Example 3: The forest reserve is one of the tiger's strongholds in central India.
Fun Fact
Mehrangarh in Jodhpur, the stronghold of the Rathore rulers, stands on a rocky hill about 125 metres above the surrounding plain.
Practise the CREST Way
Word Makeup
Choose the correctly spelt compound word:
a) stronghold
b) houshold
c) threshhold
d) foothould
Show answer
a) stronghold. Threshold has only one h in the middle, household keeps the e of house and foothold ends in hold.
Word Connection
Choose the synonym of the word stronghold as it is used in the sentence:
For centuries the island fort remained the pirates' stronghold along the western coast.
a) prison
b) fortress
c) village
d) weakness
Show answer
b) fortress. A stronghold is a well-defended place, which is what a fortress is.
Mingle-Mangle
Unjumble the letters in the sentence to form a meaningful word:
The old fort at Golconda was once a mighty hlrodgntso of the Qutb Shahi kings.
a) strongbox
b) stronghold
c) household
d) stranglehold
Show answer
b) stronghold. The jumble has ten letters with two o's and no a or b, which fits stronghold only.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. A city that is a stronghold of a team is a place where the team ____.
a) has many supporters
b) has no ground
c) is unknown
d) never plays
Show answer
a) has many supporters
2. Which of these is a stronghold in the first sense?
a) a walled fort on a hill
b) a fruit stall
c) a school bus
d) a garden bench
Show answer
a) a walled fort on a hill
