fortification

noun fortifications

1. countable, uncountable The act of fortifying; the art or science of fortifying places to strengthen defence against an enemy. Premier Raymond Poincaré, ever an arch militarist, took full advantage of last week’s war scare in the Belgian Parliament to trumpet through the inspired Parisian press that France must drastically increase her armaments. While this propaganda was at its height, he announced to the Chamber that the
2. countable, uncountable That which fortifies; especially, a work or works erected to defend a place against attack; a fortified place; a fortress; a fort; a castle. Kenett states that the military works still known by the name of Tadmarten Camp and Hook-Norton Barrow were cast up at this time ; the former, large and round, is judged to be a fortification of the Danes, and the latter, being smaller and rather a quinquangle than a square, of the Saxons.

   Similar: bastion

3. countable, uncountable An increase in effectiveness, as by adding ingredients. Compare the nutrition information label of a regular ready-to-eat fortified cereal with that of a presweetened brand and you'll note that, although the sweetened one's sugar content is higher, the fortification is virtually identical.
4. countable, uncountable A jagged pattern sometimes seen during an attack of migraine.