château-fort

\ʃɑ.to.fɔʁ\

/\ʃɑ.to.fɔʁ\/ noun

The verdict

“château-fort” is uncommon French (outside the top frequency list), classed as a noun. The kind of spelling people second-guess.

Unranked
below top-frequency French
12
letters

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed September 3, 2026) - Château médiéval fortifié.

Corpus desk

Index FR-chateau-fort · château-fort · French

château-fort · unranked · 0 variants · 0 confusables

  • FREQ-UNRANKED Unranked
  • LEN-MEGA 12 letters
  • VOW-5 5 vowels
  • CONFUS-0 No pairs
  • VAR-0 0 variants
  • BOOK-THIN "C" thin
  • PHOTO-UNK Peer pending

Desk codes from Wiktionary headword shape, FrequencyWords rank tier, confusable-pair count, generated misspelling depth, letter-cohort book size, and photo-finish peer. Not a difficulty grade.

Key facts for château-fort
PropertyValue
Headwordchâteau-fort
LanguageFrench
Part of speechNoun
IPA\ʃɑ.to.fɔʁ\
Letters12
Misspellings tracked0
Confusable pairs0
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Longue queue: rang de « château-fort » en français

château-fortn'entre pas dans le top 100.000 du français: zone de termes techniques, archaïques ou rares.

Beyond rank #100,000. Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Rare enough to double-check

château-fort is uncommon French outside the top frequency list, classed as anoun, transcribed \ʃɑ.to.fɔʁ\. Rarity is why readers land here mid-draft. 3 senses are on record.

Zero misspellings are on record for château-fort in our index, and the word's spelling is regular enough that our generator found nothing worth flagging. This entry stands alone in our confusable dataset, which usually means its spelling is distinct enough that readers don't reach for a similar-looking word instead.

This entry carries no recorded etymology, so any spelling logic here comes from how the word's sounds map to letters, not a documented origin story. The correct French form is château-fort, spelled C-H-Â-T-E-A-U---F-O-R-T.

Definition

  1. 1
    Château médiéval fortifié.
  2. 2
    Circonscription électorale traditionnellement acquise à un parti politique en particulier.
  3. 3
    Meuble représentant le bâtiment du même nom dans les armoiries. Il se blasonne comme le château.

Recorded use

Wiktionary examples

These source excerpts show how château-fort appears in context. They illustrate usage; the definition above remains the entry’s reference meaning.

  1. Nous laissâmes sur notre droite un village au centre duquel s’élevait une espèce de château fort.
  2. Soudain, devant nous, au seuil des montagnes, apparaît une ville. […]. Au-dessus d'elle, un château-fort, les tours encore presque intactes, mais renversées horizontalement, comme dans les mirages qui n’ont pu tourner tout-à-fait.

Synonyms

This word in other languages

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "château-fort"?
"château-fort" is spelled C-H-Â-T-E-A-U---F-O-R-T. The IPA pronunciation is \ʃɑ.to.fɔʁ\.
What does "château-fort" mean?
As a noun, "château-fort" means: Château médiéval fortifié.
How do you pronounce "château-fort"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "château-fort" is \ʃɑ.to.fɔʁ\. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What language does "château-fort" come from?
"château-fort" is a French word. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, and spelling data for this and other words across English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German on PlainSpell.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list