stronghold
strong·hold/ˈstɹɔŋˌhoʊld/noun
stronghold is spelled S-T-R-O-N-G-H-O-L-D: 10 letters and 2 syllables (strong·hold). It appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form (wordfreq, 2021 data). As a noun, stronghold means “A place built to withstand attack; a fortress” (English Wiktionary, September 2026). The plural of stronghold is strongholds.
How many letters and syllables are in stronghold?
| Letters | 10: S-T-R-O-N-G-H-O-L-D |
|---|---|
| Syllables | 2: strong·hold |
| In writing | 2.6 times per million words; the 16,687th most frequent word form |
| Wrong spellings searched | none measured in search |
Sources: letters and syllables from the English Wiktionary's hyphenation or pronunciation; written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How common is stronghold?
Stronghold appears 2.6 times per million words in written English, the 16,687th most frequent word form in the list.
Source: written frequency: wordfreq 3.1 (a 2021 snapshot of Wikipedia, subtitles, news, books, web text and social media).
How do you pronounce stronghold?
- UK /ˈstɹɒŋhəʊld/
- US /ˈstɹɔŋˌhoʊld/
Stronghold has 2 syllables, split strong·hold in writing.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Recordings: En-us-stronghold.ogg, En-au-stronghold.ogg, Wikimedia Commons (author and licence on each file's page).
Forms of stronghold
- strongholds plural
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
What does stronghold mean?
The meanings the English Wiktionary records, quoted as written there (source below).
noun
- 1
A place built to withstand attack; a fortress.
- 2
A place of domination by, or refuge or survival of, a particular group or idea.
the last stronghold of the Cornish language
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).
Stronghold in Spanish, French, German and Portuguese
| Language | Words |
|---|---|
| French | bastion, place forte , fief |
| German | Festung , Hochburg |
| Portuguese | fortaleza |
| Spanish | bastión, fuerte, fortaleza, plaza fuerte , baluarte, reducto |
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract). Translations are Wiktionary's, by sense; a linked word has its own PlainSpell page.
Where does stronghold come from?
From Middle English stranghalde, strong-hold, strong-holde, from strong (“having physical strength, sturdy, strong; built to withstand assaults, fortified”) (from Old English strang, strong (“strong”), ultimately from Proto-Indo-European *strengʰ- (“stiff, tight”)) + hōld (“grasp, grip; control, possession, rule”) (from Old English). By surface analysis, strong + hold.
Source: English Wiktionary, dump of September 2, 2026 (CC BY-SA 4.0), through kaikki.org (Wiktextract).