guard
noun /ɡɑːd/
/ɡɑːrd/
Idioms - [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
be 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.