- [countable] a person, such as a soldier, a police officer or a prison officer, who protects a place or people, or prevents prisoners from escaping
- prison/border guards
- The building is protected by armed guards.
- The prisoner slipped past the guards on the gate and escaped.
- A guard was posted outside the building.
Extra ExamplesTopics War and conflictb1, Crime and punishmentb1, Jobsb1- Guards had been posted all around the TV studio.
- Guards patrolled the perimeter fence.
- The border guard checked our papers before waving us through.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- armed
- uniformed
- border
- …
- post
- station
- patrol something
- protect something
- escort somebody
- …
- duty
- dog
- [uncountable] the act or duty of protecting property, places or people from attack or danger; the act or duty of preventing prisoners from escaping
- on guard a sentry on guard (= at his or her post, on duty)
- to be on guard duty
- under guard The escaped prisoner was brought back under armed guard.
- The terrorist was kept under police guard.
Extra ExamplesTopics Dangerb2, War and conflictb2- Two sentries stood on guard.
- The suspects were kept under police guard.
- He fell asleep on guard duty.
- He was doing guard duty at the entrance to the embassy.
- Would you like me to keep guard of your room?
- Two police officers kept guard over the burned-out building.
- The prisoners were under close guard.
- The accused was taken to court under armed guard.
- Soldiers stood guard on the city gates.
- Several police officers were on guard outside the factory.
- He arrived under heavy guard.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- close
- 24-hour
- constant
- …
- off (your) guard
- on (your) guard
- under guard
- …
- drop your guard
- keep guard of something
- keep your guard up
- …
- [countable + singular or plural verb] a group of people, such as soldiers or police officers, who protect somebody/something
- the captain of the guard
- the changing of the guard (= when one group replaces another)
- The guard is/are being inspected today.
- Fellow airmen provided a guard of honour at his wedding.
- The president always travels with an armed guard.
Extra ExamplesTopics War and conflictc1- Fellow soldiers from Corporal Smith's regiment formed a guard of honour at his wedding.
- The guard was changed every two hours.
- A group of tourists was watching the changing of the guard outside the palace.
- It would only be a matter of minutes before the alarm was raised and the guard called out.
- The coffin was accompanied by a guard of honour.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- civil
- national
- palace
- …
- change
- call out
- guard of honour/honor
- the Guards[plural] (in the UK and some other countries) special regiments of soldiers whose original duty was to protect the king or queen
- the Scots Guards
- a Guards officer
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- civil
- national
- palace
- …
- change
- call out
- guard of honour/honor
- [countable] (often in compounds) something that covers a part of a person’s body or a dangerous part of a machine to prevent injury
- All players wear helmets and face guards.
- Ensure the guard is in place before operating the machine.
Oxford Collocations Dictionaryadjective- trigger
- fire
- shin
- …
- [countable] (British English, becoming old-fashioned) conductor (= a person who is in charge of a train and travels with it, but does not drive it)Topics Transport by bus and trainb2
- [uncountable] a position you take to defend yourself, especially in a sport such as boxing or fencing
- to drop/keep up your guard
- (figurative) In spite of the awkward questions the minister never let his guard fall for a moment.
Extra ExamplesTopics Sports: other sportsc2- Matt relaxed a little, dropping his guard.
- No one can keep their guard up all the time.
- [countable] one of the two players on a basketball team who are mainly responsible for staying close to players of the other team to stop them from scoring see also point guard, shooting guardTopics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
- [countable] one of the two players on an American football team who play either side of the centre forward see also pulling guardTopics Sports: ball and racket sportsc2
people who protect
against injury
on train
in boxing/fencing
in basketball
in American football
Word Originlate Middle English (in the sense ‘care, custody’): from Old French garde (noun), garder (verb), of West Germanic origin. Compare with ward.
Idioms
See guard in the Oxford Advanced American DictionarySee guard in the Oxford Learner's Dictionary of Academic Englishbe on your guard
- to be very careful and prepared for something difficult or dangerous
- He was always on his guard against moneymaking schemes.
drop your guard
- to stop being careful and preparing yourself for possible danger or difficulty
- You can never drop your guard with a two-year-old.
- Even when he's winning, he never drops his guard.
mount/stand/keep guard (over somebody/something)
- to watch or protect somebody/something
- Four soldiers stood guard over the coffin.
- One of the men kept guard, while the other broke into the house.
off (your) guard
- not careful or prepared for something difficult or dangerous
- The lawyer’s apparently innocent question was designed to catch the witness off (his) guard.
Extra ExamplesTopics Dangerc2- He caught me completely off guard.
- The question seemed to catch him off his guard.
Check pronunciation:
guard