Definitions
from The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, 5th Edition.
- transitive verb To work better or faster than.
- transitive verb To complete (something); work (something) out.
- noun A minor fortification constructed beyond a main defensive position or fortification.
from The Century Dictionary.
- noun Work done outside, out of doors, or in the fields, as distinguished from indoor work.
- noun In fortification, one of the minor defenses constructed in advance of the main work or enceinte.
- noun Hence A bulwark; any defense against violence from outside.
- To surpass in workmanship.
- To surpass or exceed in labor, exertion, or agitation.
- To work out or carry on to a conclusion; complete; finish.
from the GNU version of the Collaborative International Dictionary of English.
- transitive verb To exceed in working; to work more or faster than.
- noun (Fort.) A minor defense constructed beyond the main body of a work, as a ravelin, lunette, hornwork, etc.
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License.
- verb rare To
work out to afinish ; tocomplete . - verb To
work faster or harder than. - noun A minor, subsidiary
fortification built beyond the main limits of fortification.
from WordNet 3.0 Copyright 2006 by Princeton University. All rights reserved.
- noun subsidiary defensive structure lying outside the main fortified area
Etymologies
from Wiktionary, Creative Commons Attribution/Share-Alike License
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Examples
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When a defence of a certain Spanish outwork was resolved upon, the duke, from his rank, was chosen for the command.
The Wits and Beaux of Society Volume 1 Philip Wharton 1847
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In the outwork was a sallyport corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade.
Ivanhoe 2004
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In the outwork was a sallyport [Footnote: A sallyport is an underground passage from the outer to the inner fortifications.] corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade.
Journeys Through Bookland, Vol. 4 Charles Herbert Sylvester
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In the outwork was a sally-port corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade.
The Literary World Seventh Reader Hetty Sibyl Browne 1907
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In the outwork was a sallyport corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade.
Ivanhoe 1892
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We have destroyed the machines, and retaken the outwork, which is now held by Andrew
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In the outwork was a sallyport corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade.
Ivanhoe. A Romance 1819
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In the outwork was a sallyport corresponding to the postern of the castle, and the whole was surrounded by a strong palisade.
Ivanhoe Walter Scott 1801
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Meer Baber Beg has placed his fortress in a very respectable state of defence, quite adequate to repel the desultory inroads of his predatory neighbours; but commanded by and exposed to enfilade from the hills about it, on one of these hills he has built a tower as a kind of outwork, but it is very weak and of insignificant size.
A Peep into Toorkisthhan Rollo Gillespie Burslem
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I should have mentioned that on the north side of the other Piers at some distance another Pier is sunk to serve as a kind of outwork to the others in breaking the Force of the Ice coming down.
Journal of a Tour to North Carolina by William Attmore, 1787 1922
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