Noun: bastille ba'steel
- A jail or prison (especially one that is run in a tyrannical manner)
"The political prisoners were held in a bastille-like fortress"
- A fortress built in Paris in the 14th century and used as a prison in the 17th and 18th centuries; it was destroyed July 14, 1789 at the start of the French Revolution
Derived forms: bastilles
Type of: calaboose [US, Austral, informal], clink [informal], fort, fortress, gaol [Brit], jail, jailhouse, pokey [informal], poky [informal], prison, prison house, slammer [informal]
Part of: capital of France, City of Light, French capital, Paris
Encyclopedia: Bastille