blockhouse

From block +‎ house.

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blockhouse (plural blockhouses)

1. A sturdy military fortification, often of concrete, with gunports.
2. A reinforced building from which to control hazardous operations, such as an explosion or a rocket launch.
3. (dated) A temporary wooden fortification with a projecting upper storey.
   • 1881–1882, Robert Louis Stevenson, Treasure Island, London; Paris: Cassell & Company, published 14 November 1883, →OCLC:

     We had soon touched land in the same place as before and set to provision the blockhouse. All three made the first journey, heavily laden, and tossed our stores over the palisade.

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