cantonment

noun

can·​ton·​ment kan-ˈtōn-mənt How to pronounce cantonment (audio) -ˈtän- How to pronounce cantonment (audio)
 also  -ˈtün-
1
: usually temporary quarters for troops
2
: a permanent military station in India

Examples of cantonment in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The military has established large cantonments in Tamil areas, treating civilians with a heavy hand. William McGowan, Foreign Affairs, 2 Aug. 2012 In the military cantonment, a formidable army stood at the ready, awaiting its lords’ commands. Salman Rushdie, The New Yorker, 5 Dec. 2022 A day earlier, Iraqi troops began turning up in quantity at the huge British cantonment at Basra Airport. Simon Akam, The Atlantic, 20 Feb. 2021 Areas like cantonment, Clement town and Raipur are not shown as Dehradun population even though the city bears their population pressure. Hridayesh Joshi, Quartz India, 4 Feb. 2020 Tibet, like Xinjiang province to its north, is a cantonment of the People’s Republic. Matthew Continetti, National Review, 24 Aug. 2019 But his no-nonsense, hands-on training regimen transformed the Continental Army into a skilled fighting force that humbled the British when the Americans emerged from their winter cantonment with the decisive triumph at Monmouth. Peter Cozzens, WSJ, 21 Dec. 2018 Machar's troops are expected to go to cantonment sites for training to be unified with the government army. Sam Mednick, Fox News, 9 Aug. 2018 Image The actions are similar to those used against Pakistan’s biggest cable news network, Geo TV, which cable providers in military cantonment areas started blocking in March. Douglas Schorzman, New York Times, 6 June 2018

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'cantonment.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1753, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of cantonment was in 1753

Dictionary Entries Near cantonment

Cite this Entry

“Cantonment.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/cantonment. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.

Kids Definition

cantonment

noun
can·​ton·​ment kan-ˈtōn-mənt How to pronounce cantonment (audio) -ˈtän- How to pronounce cantonment (audio)
: a military station in India

More from Merriam-Webster on cantonment

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!