Standard Lemma guide

citadel

noun · 5 senses · updated from the 2026-07-25 local source snapshot

Definitions and examples are grouped by meaning. Pronunciation, history, word forms, translations, descendants, synonyms, antonyms, derived terms, and related words appear whenever the source provides them.

Sound

Pronunciation

Each Play button uses your device's default local English voice, or a natural local fallback. The selected voice name appears after playback. This is synthesized speech, not a source recording.

  • /ˈsɪtədəl/
  • /ˈsɪtədɛl/
  • US: Recorded audio is listed in the source snapshot.
  • CMU ARPABET: S IH1 T AH0 D EH2 L Digits mark lexical stress: 1 primary, 2 secondary, 0 unstressed.

1

noun

Meaning 1

A strong fortress that sits high above a city.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

2

noun

Meaning 2

A stronghold or fortified place.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

Usage: figuratively, sometimes

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

3

noun

Meaning 3

An armoured portion of a warship, housing important equipment.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

4

noun

Meaning 4

A Salvation Army meeting place.

Definition source: English Wiktionary via Wiktextract

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: none provided

Antonyms: none provided

5

noun

Meaning 5

a stronghold into which people could go for shelter during a battle

Definition source: Princeton WordNet 3.0

No example sentence was provided for this meaning.

Meaning relationships

Synonyms: bastion

Antonyms: none provided

Broader terms: stronghold, fastness

Narrower terms: acropolis, kremlin

History

Etymology

From French citadelle, from Italian cittadella, diminutive of città (“city”), from Latin cīvitās.

Across languages

Translations

90 source translations are retained for this English entry.

  • Arabic: مَعْقِل (maʕqil) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Armenian: միջնաբերդ (miǰnaberd) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Aromanian: tsitati — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Aromanian: grãditã — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Belarusian: цытадэ́ль (cytadélʹ) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Bulgarian: цитаде́ла (citadéla) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Catalan: ciutadella — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Chinese Mandarin: 堡壘 /堡垒 (bǎolěi) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Czech: citadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Dutch: citadel — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Esperanto: citadelo — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Esperanto: altaĵo — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Estonian: tsitadel — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Finnish: sitadelli — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • French: citadelle — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Georgian: ციტადელი (ciṭadeli) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • German: Zitadelle — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Greek: ακρόπολη (akrópoli) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Ancient Greek: ἀκρόπολις (akrópolis) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Hebrew: מְצוּדָה (metzudá) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Hungarian: citadella — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Hungarian: fellegvár — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Italian: cittadella — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Japanese: 城塞 (jōsai) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Korean: 성채 (seongchae) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Latin: arx — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Latvian: citadele — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Lithuanian: citadelė — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Macedonian: цитадела (citadela) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Māori: tihi — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Māori: toitoi — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Persian: ارگ (arg) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Persian: کلات (kalât) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Polish: cytadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Portuguese: cidadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Romanian: citadelă — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Romanian: cetate — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Russian: цитаде́ль (citadɛ́lʹ) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Russian: кре́пость (krépostʹ) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Serbo-Croatian: цитадела — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Serbo-Croatian: citadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Slovak: citadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Slovene: citadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Spanish: ciudadela — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Spanish: alcázar — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Swedish: citadell — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Tagalog: moog — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Turkish: iç kale — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Ottoman Turkish: ارك (erk) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Ukrainian: цитаде́ль (cytadélʹ) — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Uzbek: ark — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Vietnamese: thành luỹ — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Vietnamese: thành trì — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Vietnamese: thành quách — a strong fortress that sits high above a city
  • Albanian: kala — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Albanian: fortesë — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Arabic: مَعْقِل (maʕqil) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Arabic: قَلْعَة (qalʕa) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Arabic: قِلْعَة (qilʕa) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Belarusian: цытадэ́ль (cytadélʹ) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Bulgarian: цитаде́ла (citadéla) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Catalan: ciutadella — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Chinese Mandarin: 城堡 (chéngbǎo) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Czech: citadela — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Dutch: citadel — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Finnish: linnoitus — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Finnish: linnake — a stronghold or fortified place
  • French: citadelle — a stronghold or fortified place
  • German: Zitadelle — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Italian: cittadella — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Japanese: 城塞 (jōsai) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Korean: 성채 (seongchae) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Latin: arx — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Macedonian: цитадела (citadela) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Polish: cytadela — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Portuguese: cidadela — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Romanian: citadelă — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Romanian: fortificație — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Romanian: cetate — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Russian: цитаде́ль (citadɛ́lʹ) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Russian: кре́пость (krépostʹ) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Serbo-Croatian: цитадела — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Serbo-Croatian: citadela — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Slovak: citadela — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Slovene: citadela — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Turkish: hisar — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Ottoman Turkish: حصن (hısn) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Ukrainian: цитаде́ль (cytadélʹ) — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Vietnamese: thành trì — a stronghold or fortified place
  • Welsh: chadarnle — a stronghold or fortified place
Real reading context

citadel in complete knowledge articles