Word.ws English Dictionary

ward

UK/wɔːd//wɔɹd/

ward noun: a warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.

Noun (1)

ward (plural wards)

  1. (archaic, obsolete) A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.
    • th'aſſieged Caſtles ward
      Their ſtedfaſt ſtonds did mightily maintaine1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto IX”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 15
    • no gate they found, them to withhold,
      Nor ward to wait at morne and euening late […].1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book III, Canto XI”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC

Noun (2)

ward (countable and uncountable, plural wards)

  1. The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.)
    • Before the dore ſat ſelfe-conſuming Care,
      Day and night keeping wary watch and ward,
      For feare leaſt Force or Fraud ſhould vnaware
      Breake in[…]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
  2. Guardianship, especially of a child or prisoner.
    • So forth the presoners were brought before Arthure, and he commaunded hem into kepyng of the conestabyls warde, surely to be kepte as noble presoners.1485, Sir Thomas Malory, Le Morte d'Arthur, Book V
    • I must attend his majesty's command, to whom I am now in ward.c. 1604–1605 (date written), William Shakespeare, “All’s Well, that Ends Well”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and Ed[ward]...
  3. An enchantment or spell placed over a designated area or social unit, that prevents any tresspasser from entering; approaching; or even being able to locate said protected premises or demographic.
  4. A guarding or defensive motion or position.
    • Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point.c. 1597 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The First Part of Henry the Fourth, […]”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac Iaggard, and...
  5. (historical, Scots law) Land tenure through military service.
  6. An area of a castle, corresponding to a circuit of the walls.
    • Diocletian[…]must certainly have derived some consolation from the grandeur of Aspalaton, the great arcaded wall it turned to the Adriatic, its four separate wards, each town size, and its seventeen watch-towers[…].1942, Rebecca West, Black Lamb and Grey Falcon, Canongate, published 2006, page 149
    • With the castle so crowded, the outer ward had been given over to guests to raise their tents and pavilions, leaving only the smaller inner yards for training.2000 August 8, George R[aymond] R[ichard] Martin, “Sansa [Stark]”, in A Storm of Swords (A Song of Ice and Fire; 3), London: Voyager, →ISBN, page 63
  7. A section or subdivision of a prison.
  8. An administrative division of a borough, city or council.
    • On our last visit to Tokyo, we went to Chiyoda ward and visited the Emperor’s palace.
    • The sayde Iohn Mansell chargyd the mayre, that euery Alderman in hys warde shulde vppon the morowe folowyng assemble hys wardemote, [etc.].a. 1513, Fabyan, Chron., published 1533, § vii, page 28b
  9. (UK) A division of a forest.
  10. (Mormonism) A subdivision of the LDS Church, smaller than and part of a stake, but larger than a branch.
  11. A part of a hospital, with beds, where patients reside.
    • Since sick people were apt to be present, he could not always depend on a lively young crowd in the same ward with him, and the entertainment was not always good.1961 November 10, Joseph Heller, “The Soldier in White”, in Catch-22 […], New York, N.Y.: Simon and Schuster, →OCLC, page 168
    • Many hospitals have not taken simple steps to lessen the distress and confusion which dementia sufferers' often feel on being somewhere so unfamiliar – such as making signs large and easy to read, using colour schemes to help patients find their way around unfamiliar wards and not putting family...2011 December 16, Denis Campbell, “Hospital staff 'lack skills to cope with dementia patients'”, in Guardian
  12. A minor looked after by a guardian.
    • After the trial, little Robert was declared a ward of the state.
    • Not unnaturally, “Auntie” took this communication in bad part. Thus outraged, she showed herself to be a bold as well as a furious virago. Next day she found her way to their lodgings and tried to recover her ward by the hair of the head.1918, W[illiam] B[abington] Maxwell, chapter XXII, in The Mirror and the Lamp, Indianapolis, Ind.: The Bobbs-Merrill Company, →OCLC
  13. (obsolete) An underage orphan.
  14. An object used for guarding.
    1. The ridges on the inside of a lock, or the incisions on a key.
      • A man muſt thorowly ſound himſelfe, and dive into his heart, and there ſee by what wards or ſprings the motions ſtirre., II.1
      • The lock is made […] more secure by attaching wards to the front, as well as to the back, plate of the lock, in which case the key must be furnished with corresponding notches.1852–1854, Charles Tomlinson, Cyclopaedia of Useful Arts and Manufactures

Verb

ward (third-person singular simple present wards, present participle warding, simple past and past participle warded)

  1. (transitive) To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard.
    • Whoſe gates he found faſt ſhut, ne liuing wight
      To ward the ſame, nor anſwere commers call1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book I, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC, stanza 3
  2. (transitive) To defend, to protect.
    • Tell him it was a hand that warded him
      From a thousand dangers.c. 1588–1593 (date written), William Shakespeare, “The Lamentable Tragedy of Titus Andronicus”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […] (First Folio), London: […] Isaac...
    • they went to ſeeke their owne death, and ruſhed amidſt the thickeſt of their enemies, with an intention, rather to ſtrike, than to ward themſelves.1603, Michel de Montaigne, translated by John Florio, Essays, II.3
  3. (transitive) To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches. (usually followed by off)
    • Draw forth thy ſword, thou mightie man at armes,
      Intending but to raiſe my charmed ſkin:
      And Ioue himſelfe will ſtretch his hand from heauen,
      To ward the blow, and ſhield me ſafe from harme, […]c. 1587–1588 (date written), [Christopher Marlowe], Tamburlaine the Great. […] The First Part […], 2nd edition, part 1, London: […] [R. Robinson for] Richard Iones, […], published 1592, →OCLC...
    • Now wards a felling blow, now strikes again.1609, Samuel Daniel, The Civile Wares
    Synonyms:
    ward off
  4. (intransitive) To be vigilant; to keep guard.
    • They for vs fight, they watch and dewly ward,
      And their bright Squadrons round about vs plant […]1590, Edmund Spenser, “Book II, Canto VIII”, in The Faerie Queene. […], London: […] [John Wolfe] for William Ponsonbie, →OCLC
    • Having slapped into middle age, where thoughts of one’s general infallibility are tempered by the realisation that those creaky, achy complaints are signs of certain decrepitude, I have decided to ward against further gravitational decline by hauling my saggy, sorry self to the gym.2017 November 16, Jo Ellison, “Help: the gym has turned us into slobs”, in Financial Times
  5. (intransitive) To act on the defensive with a weapon.

Proper noun (1) capitalized: Ward

Ward (countable and uncountable, plural Wards)

  1. (countable) An English surname originating as an occupation for a guard or watchman.
  2. (countable) An English male given name.
  3. A parish of Castleknock, Fingal, Ireland.
  4. A river in Ireland; in full, Ward River.
  5. A small town in Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand, named after Joseph Ward.
  6. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Ward Beach: a coastline in Marlborough, South Island, New Zealand.
  7. An unincorporated community in Sumter County, Alabama.
  8. A city in Lonoke County, Arkansas.
  9. A town in Boulder County, Colorado.
  10. An unincorporated community in Jackson Township, Boone County, Indiana.
  11. A township in Randolph County, Indiana.
  12. A township in Todd County, Minnesota.
Show 8 more meaningsShow fewer meanings
  1. A town in Allegany County, New York.
  2. A township in Hocking County, Ohio.
  3. A township in Tioga County, Pennsylvania.
  4. A town in Saluda County, South Carolina.
  5. A town in Moody County, South Dakota.
  6. An unincorporated community in Stevens County, Washington.
  7. An unincorporated community and coal town in Kanawha County, West Virginia.
  8. (abbreviation, ellipsis) Ellipsis of Ward County.

Proper noun (2) capitalized: Ward

Ward (plural Wards)

  1. (abbreviation, clipping) Clipping of Edward (a corruption of the name Edward).
  2. (abbreviation, clipping) Clipping of Howard.

ward meaning in Hindi, Tamil, Marathi and Urdu

ward in Hindi

Mormonism: subdivision of church
वार्ड vārḍ

ward in Tamil

வார்டு

ward in Marathi

वार्ड

ward in Urdu

وارڈ
More languagesFewer languages
ward in Bengali
ওয়ার্ড
ward in Telugu
వార్డు, వార్డ్
ward in Malayalam
വാർഡ്
ward in Kannada
ವಾರ್ಡ್, ವಾರ್ಡು
ward in Punjabi
ਵਾਰਡ, ਵਾਰ੍ਡ, ਵਾਰਡ ਕਰਨ ਲਈ
ward in Gujarati
વોર્ડ, વાર્ડ
ward in Odia
ୱାର୍ଡ, ୱାର୍ଡ୍
ward in Nepali
वडा waḍā
ward in Arabic
جَنَاح janāḥ
ward in Malay
wad
ward in Indonesian
bangsal, sal, paviliun
ward in Vietnamese
phường, phòng, trẻ tạm nuôi, khu

Examples of ward in a sentence

  • there is remuneration for the best ward of minec. 1595–1596 (date written), William Shakespeare, “Loues Labour’s Lost”, in Mr. William Shakespeares Comedies, Histories, & Tragedies […]...
  • It is also inconvenient, in Ireland, that the wards and marriages of gentlemen's children should be in the disposal of any of those lords.1596 (date written; published 1633), Edmund Spenser, A Vewe of the Present State of Irelande […], Dublin: […] Societie of Stationers, […]...
  • There is also The Wardmote Enquest, Chosen euery St.1588, W. Smith, Brief Descr. Lond. (MS. Harl. 6363), leaf 13:
  • We meete at the Guildehall and there determine That thorow euery warde the watche be clad In armour.c. 1590, Anthony Munday, Henry Chettle, edited by Thomas Heywood, Thomas Dekker, and William Shakespeare, Sir Thomas More, Act II, scene...

All 40 example sentences with ward

Synonyms of ward

Forms of ward

Noun
pluralwards
alternative form (obsolete)warde
Verb
third-person singular presentwards
present participlewarding
past participlewarded
pastwarded
Proper noun
pluralWards

Plural of ward: wards

Origin of ward

From Middle English warde, from Old English weard (“keeper, watchman, guard, guardian, protector; lord, king; possessor”), from Proto-Germanic *warduz (“guard, keeper”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Cognate with Dutch waard, German Wart.

From Middle English ward, warde, from Old English weard (“watching, ward, protection, guardianship; advance post; waiting for, lurking, ambuscade”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardu, from Proto-Germanic *wardō (“protection, attention, keeping”), an extension of the stem *wara- (“attentive”) (English wary, beware), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to cover”). Cognate with German Warte (“watchtower”), warten (“wait for”); English guard is a parallel form which came via Old French.

From Middle English warden, from Old English weardian (“to watch, guard, keep, protect, preserve; hold, possess, occupy, inhabit; rule, govern”), from Proto-West Germanic *wardēn, from Proto-Germanic *wardōną, *wardāną (“to guard”), from Proto-Indo-European *wer- (“to heed, defend”). Doublet of guard.

Words formed from ward

Phrases with ward

8 more phrasesFewer phrases

Words that rhyme with ward

40 more rhymesFewer rhymes

Questions about ward

What does ward mean?
Ward means a warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman.
What is ward in Hindi?
Ward in Hindi is वार्ड (vārḍ). See Ward meaning in Hindi.
How do you use ward in a sentence?
there is remuneration for the best ward of mine
What part of speech is ward?
Ward can be a noun, a verb or a proper noun.
How do you pronounce ward?
Ward is pronounced /wɔːd/ (UK).
What is the plural of ward?
The plural of ward is wards.

Words near ward in the dictionary

  1. warcrafts
  2. warcries
  3. warcrime
  4. warcrimes
  5. warcry
  6. ward
  7. Ward County
  8. ward heeler
  9. ward heelers
  10. Ward Hill
  11. ward moot

Source and license

Adapted from Wiktionary: ward (page history and authors); Ward (page history and authors); ward (Tamil, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Marathi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Urdu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Bengali, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Telugu, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Malayalam, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Kannada, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Punjabi, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Gujarati, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license); ward (Odia, IndicTrans2 machine translation) (model and license). Text available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 license. Word.ws reformatted the entry and added links. Wiktionary data of 2026-09-02.

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Pronunciation audio from Wikimedia Commons, each file under its own free license: en-us-ward.ogg.

Cite this entry: “ward.” Word.ws, https://word.ws/ward. Based on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.