From Longman Dictionary of Contemporary Englishguardguard1 /ɡɑːd $ ɡɑːrd/ ●●● S2 W2 noun 1 person [countable] a) BOsomeone whose job is to protect a place or person There were two security guards on duty outside the building. We were stopped by border guards. Armed guards were posted by the exit. b) someone whose job is to prevent prisoners from escaping The prison guards were reasonably friendly.2 protection [uncountable]PROTECT the act or duty of protecting places or people, or of preventing prisoners from escapingbe on guard Who was on guard the night the fire broke out?keep/stand guard (over somebody/something) Gunmen stood guard at the camp entrance.be under (police/armed etc) guard (=to be guarded by a group of people) He was taken to hospital, where he is now under police guard.3 soldiers a) [singular] a group of soldiers who guard someone or something The president has called in the National Guard. b) the Guards British English a group of soldiers who protect the king or queen4 equipment [countable]PROTECT something that is used to protect someone or something from damage or injury a face guard a fire guard5 on a train [countable] British EnglishBOTTT a person whose job is to be in charge of a train SYN conductor American English 6 → on your guard7 → catch/throw somebody off guard8 → guard of honour9 → the old guard10 fighting [singular]DSO the position of holding your arms or hands up in a fight in order to defend yourself He swung at me and I brought my guard up.11 sport [countable] a) one of two players on a basketball team who is responsible for moving the ball to help their team gain points b) one of two players on an American football team who plays either side of the centre
Examples from the Corpus
guard• Guards at the embassy refused to let journalists enter.• The captain put armed guards all around the camp.• Creekmur, a Lions offensive lineman during the 1950s, played both guard and tackle in his 10-year career.• You can buy guards for electric sockets that make it impossible for little children to stick their fingers into the holes.• All college hockey players must wear face guards on their helmets.• Many guards are members of the death squads and openly discuss their activities in loud voices.• The words caught him off guard.• Detectives feared he was out for revenge and armed police were put on guard at police stations.• Currently Zandrino works as a security guard at a Healdsburg winery.• Two men overpowered the security guard and stole $20,000.• Then he sneaked past the security guard without paying.• Football players are strongly advised to wear shin guards.• As they came nearer I approached them, before the guard had time to prevent me.• The guards stopped us at the gate.prison guards• He woke up finally from a nightmare of dismembered bodies and prison guards to find himself bathed in sweat and sobbing uncontrollably.• In the overcrowded prisons, Amnesty claimed that 25 prisoners had been deliberately killed by the police and prison guards in 1989.• Orlando Azcué was also said to have been beaten by prison guards on at least three occasions.• Officials earlier this week said Guzman, who is still at large, spent months corrupting prison guards for the escape.• An urgent need arose in the late 1970s and early 1980s to recruit many new prison guards.• After 75 days of being brutalized and sexually assaulted by other inmates and ignored by the prison guards, Rodney hanged himself.• Since I was the only child in the jail, the prison guards were nice to me.• Most of the prison guards ran away, with the prisoners.be under (police/armed etc) guard• He was under guard Monday in Salem Hospital, where he is expected to be arraigned.• Read in studio A man is under police guard in hospital tonight after a stolen car crashed while being followed.• Or he may secretly be under guard in Dracula's castle.guardguard2 ●●● W2 verb [transitive] 1 PROTECTto protect a person, place, or object by staying near them and watching them The Sergeant told Swift to guard the entrance. a lioness guarding her cubsguard somebody/something against something There is no one to guard these isolated farms against attack.► see thesaurus at protect2 SCJto watch a prisoner to prevent them from escaping3 to protect something such as a right or a secret by preventing other people from taking it away, discovering it etc chiefs who jealously guarded their independence a closely guarded secret4 to prevent another sports player from gaining points, getting the ball etc → guard against something→ See Verb tableExamples from the Corpus
guard• And this she must guard against at all costs.• She must be mated again, and the first mate has to guard her or risk his groundwork going to benefit another.• I made revisions on the Old Course, guarded her with all my energy.• The car was backed inside and Randolph Churchill and Corporal Rose were left to guard it.• Byron will guard Jordan in tonight's game.• An army lieutenant and 14 soldiers were guarding the air strip.• The women and children were sent into the town until the floods subsided and the men were left to guard the camp.• Soldiers have been called in to guard the embassy against further attacks.• We've hired someone to guard the entrance.• A dog guards the house.• You guard your other child very closely.guard somebody/something against something• There is no one to guard the area against possible attack.closely guarded secret• Details of the program are closely guarded secrets.• For more than forty years his existence had been a closely guarded secret.• He knew that the routine and itinerary of the Chairman were a closely guarded secret.• It was not the falcon's nesting site, John wisely keeps all such eyries a closely guarded secret.• The winning design was chosen a few months ago and has been a closely guarded secret.• Today the locations of many rare or endangered species are closely guarded secrets.• The level of marks required for entrance to secondary school is a very closely guarded secret and seldom officially revealed.• His smoking had been one of the most closely guarded secrets of the campaign.Origin guard1 (1400-1500) French garde 