/ɡɑːd/, /ɡɑɹd/
OriginFrom Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder. Doublet of garda, which is from Irish.
- A person who, or thing that, protects or watches over something.
“The prison guard unlocked the door of the cell. After completing the repairs, he replaced the sump guard.”
“Sunning himself on the board steps, I saw for the first time Mr. Farquhar Fenelon Cooke.[…]A silver snaffle on a heavy leather watch guard which connected the pockets of his corduroy waistcoat, togeth”
- IrelandA garda; a police officer.
“The Garda Regulations 1924 required a candidate for appointment as a guard to be able to produce satisfactory references as to his character”
- A squad responsible for protecting something.
“The president inspected the guard of honour.”
- in-plural, oftenAn elite military unit in Russia, the former Soviet Union and several post-Soviet countries.
- The part of a sword that protects the wielder's hand.
- A part of a machine which blocks access to dangerous parts.
“The motorcycle mechanic removed the damaged chain guard.”
- A watchchain.
- AustraliaA panel of a car that encloses the wheel area, especially the front wheels.
“Another possible way is to go for a lower profile tyre (50 series). This effectively lowers the distance of the tyre wall away from the guard (not by much though and generally, the lower the profile, ”
“The reason I'm asking - Whenever I put some weight in the back of the car (say - a passenger or two) the rear tyres can sometimes hit the guards.”
“I had just bought myself broken headlights, a f**ked up grill, a front guard bent into my front tyre, a leaky radiator and one *SLIGHTLY* bent chassis rail end. I turned the key on my stalled motor an”
- uncountableA state of caution; posture of defence.
- Something worn to protect part of the body, e.g. the shins in cricket.
- A relatively short player, playing farther from the basket than a forward or centre.
- The position on the popping crease where a batsman makes a mark to align himself with the wicket; see take guard.
- Either of two offensive positions between the centre and each of the offensive tackles, whose main responsibilities are to protect the quarterback, and open up "holes" through which offensive players can run.
- A ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs.
- A player playing a position named guard.
- An employee, normally travelling in the last vehicle of a train, responsible for the safety of the train.
“When an engineer wished to stop a swiftly moving train he had first to whistle to the guard requesting him to apply the hand-brake of the van, and then apply the hand-brake of the engine. Guards did n”
- A Boolean expression that must evaluate to true for a branch of program execution to continue.
- The aircraft emergency frequency, a radio frequency reserved for emergency communications, typically 121.5MHz for civilian use.
- transitiveTo protect from danger; to secure against surprise, attack, or injury; to keep in safety; to defend.
“For Heaven still guards the right.”
“Henceforth, wherever thou may’st roam,
My blessing, like a line of light,
Is on the waters day and night,
And like a beacon guards thee home.”
- transitiveTo keep watch over, in order to prevent escape or restrain from acts of violence, or the like.
- ambitransitiveTo watch by way of caution or defense; to be cautious; to be in a state or position of defense or safety.
“Careful people guard against mistakes.”
- transitiveTo protect the edge of, especially with an ornamental border; hence, to face or ornament with lists, laces, etc.
“The body of your discourse is sometime guarded with fragments, and the guards are but slightly basted on neither.”
- transitiveTo fasten by binding; to gird.
- A surname.
“Please deliver this package to Mr Guard.”
- abbreviation, alt-of, ellipsisEllipsis of the proper name of any of various specific services called the National Guard, the Republican Guard, and so on.
“I was 19 when I joined the Guard. The Guard provides a small pension to members who retire with enough years of service.”
Formsguards(plural) · gard(alternative, obsolete) · garde(alternative, obsolete) · guarde(alternative, obsolete) · guards(present, singular, third-person) · guarding(participle, present) · guarded(participle, past) · guarded(past) · Guards(plural)