guard
verb · noun
Simple meaning
Watch over or shield from danger or harm.
Pronunciation
Say it like this:
gahrdIPA pronunciation (US)
ˈɡɑɹd
This word is pronounced essentially the same in American and British English, so one transcription covers both.
IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) is a standard way of writing speech sounds.
Definition
Everyday modern meanings first, grouped by part of speech.
verb
Watch over or shield from danger or harm; protect
“Guard my possessions while I'm away.”
transitive
To protect from danger; to secure against surprise, attack, or injury; to keep in safety; to defend.
transitive
To keep watch over, in order to prevent escape or restrain from acts of violence, or the like.
transitive
To protect the edge of, especially with an ornamental border; hence, to face or ornament with lists, laces, etc.
transitive
To fasten by binding; to gird.
noun
A person who keeps watch over something or someone
The part of a sword that protects the wielder's hand.
uncountable
A state of caution; posture of defence.
ireland
A garda; a police officer.
A part of a machine which blocks access to dangerous parts.
A watchchain.
Word at a Glance
- Difficulty
- B1 · Intermediate
- Frequency
- Common
- Typical Use
- Everyday English
Word Aura™
How this word commonly comes across.
Aura for this meaning
This meaning: Watch over or shield from danger or harm; protect
Used this way, guard is a common word with a clearly unfavourable pull. It usually sounds natural in a wide range of settings.
“Guard my possessions while I'm away.”
- Emotional tone
- Negative
- Formality
- Neutral
- Intensity
- Moderate
- How common
- Common
- Connotation
- Serious and weighty
- Usage feel
- Neutral and straightforward
Word Aura describes common impressions, not a measurement. Tone changes with sentence, speaker, relationship and situation.
More ways to use guard
- “He was on guard that night.”noun
- “Guard my possessions while I'm away.”verb
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Common Patterns and Combinations
How this word naturally appears with others.
Word Family
Related forms, grouped by how they connect.
Compound terms
Established multiword terms.
A warship (at anchor or under way) required to maintain a higher degree of readiness than others in its squadron.
Coarse hairs that form the outer fur and protect the underfur of certain mammals.
The duty of serving as a sentry.
A dog trained to guard property.
An escort for a distinguished guest or for the casket at a military funeral.
A boat that is on guard duty (as in a harbor) around a fleet of warships.
Related words
Connected by subject or meaning, not by word formation.
The car on a train that is occupied by the guard.
More about this wordSynonyms, forms, origin
Synonyms
Sense: watch over or shield from danger or harm
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Dictionary data from Wiktionary via the Free Dictionary API. Simple meanings, combinations and word intelligence are built from verified reference data, no AI is used to load this page.