{ Bas‐tile″Bas‐tille″ } (bȧs‐tēl″ or bȧs″tē̍l; 277), n. [F. bastille fortress, OF. bastir to build, F. bâtir.]
1. (Feud. Fort.) A tower or an elevated work, used for the defense, or in the siege, of a fortified place.
The high bastiles... which overtopped the walls.
Holland.
2. “The Bastille”, formerly a castle or fortress in Paris, used as a prison, especially for political offenders; hence, a rhetorical name for a prison.