Meanings
plural cantonments
- Temporary military living quarters.
On the Umballa platform waited a detachment of officers discussing the latest news from the stricken cantonment, and it was here that Bobby learned the real condition of the Tail Twisters.
1889, Rudyard Kipling, “Only A Subaltern”, in Under the Deodars, Boston: The Greenock Press, published 1899, page 145 - A town or village, or part of a town or village, assigned to a body of troops for quarters.
The cantonments, it transpired, were singularly ill-sited for defence, being built on low, marshy ground, overlooked by hills on all sides.
1990, Peter Hopkirk, The Great Game, Folio Society, published 2010, page 220 - IndiaPakistanA permanent military station.
Synonyms & antonyms
nountemporary living quarters specially built by the army for soldiers
Synonym sets from Open English WordNet, CC BY 4.0.
Origin
- Frenchcantonnement
- Englishcantonment
From French cantonnement.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Hindi छावनी
- छावनी (chāvnī)permanent military station
Cite this entry
cantonment. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 3, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantonment
“cantonment.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantonment. Accessed November 3, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “cantonment,” accessed November 3, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/cantonment.
Source: cantonment on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.