noun
- temporary defensive walls or barriers, typically built at chest height for protection during battle
Usage: military; fortification
Examples
- The soldiers quickly constructed breastworks from logs and earth.
- Civil War troops often built breastworks to protect themselves from enemy fire.
- The defenders crouched behind their makeshift breastworks.
- Engineers reinforced the breastworks with sandbags.
- The attack was repelled by troops firing from behind the breastworks.
- Hastily built breastworks provided crucial cover during the siege.