A former fortress and prison in Paris, France, the storming of which in 1789 began the French Revolution.

Chiefly in French contexts: a bastion (“projecting part of a rampart or other fortification”) or tower of a castle; also, a fortified tower or other building; or a small citadel or fortress.

(figurative) A jail or prison, often associated with mistreatment of prisoners, or in british derogatory terms, a workhouse for homeless poor people where they were required to work.

(military, historical) The fortified encampment of an army besieging a place; also, any of the buildings in such an encampment.

(transitive, also figurative) To confine (someone or something) in, or as if in, a bastille (noun sense 2.1) or prison; to imprison.