From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishstrongholdstrong‧hold /ˈstrɒŋhəʊld $ ˈstrɒːŋhoʊld/ noun [countable] 1 PPVSUPPORT A PERSON, GROUP, OR PLANan area where there is a lot of support for a particular way of life, political party etc The area is a Republican stronghold.2 PMan area that is strongly defended by a military group The fighters moved south to their mountain stronghold.3 an area where there are large numbers of a rare animal one of the last strongholds of the European wolf
Examples from the Corpus
stronghold• Many of these protesters will be outside agitators, even convention delegates, from anti-abortion strongholds like Texas and Florida.• In the surrounding debris of apartment blocks more militia would be crouched, forming the outer defence ring of the beleaguered stronghold.• Kentucky is a traditional Democratic stronghold.• In the 1890s it declined in one of its strongholds, Kurunagala district.• The displays cover the growth and development of one of Britain's foremost medieval strongholds under its succession of powerful castellans.• a rebel stronghold• Willie Hague must have passed us on that peculiar whistlestop tour of Republican strongholds he made several months ago.• The Hohenstaufen castle of Trifels, one of Barbarossa's strongholds in the Rhineland.• Henry then withdrew to the relative safety of Richard's stronghold at Aixe. 