abatis

Plural: abatis, abatises

Noun

• A defensive obstacle formed by felled trees with sharpened branches.
• a line of defense consisting of a barrier of felled or live trees with branches (sharpened or with barbed wire entwined) pointed toward the enemy
• A means of defense formed by felled trees, or sometimes by bent trees, the ends of whose branches are sharpened and directed outwards, or against the enemy, and more recently fortified with barbed wire.
• In the Middle Ages, an officer of the stables who had the care of measuring out the provender; an avenor.
• In coal-mining, walls of cord-wood piled up crosswise to keep the underground roads open so as to secure ventilation.

Examples

• My opponent’s defensive placement of ZAX felt like an abatis blocking my best moves.

Synonyms

abattis