ward

1. Protection, defence.countableuncountable

2. Protection, defence.Examples: "Thou knowest my old ward; here I lay, and thus I bore my point."countableuncountable

3. Protection, defence.countablehistoricaluncountable

4. A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision.UKcountableuncountable

5. A protected place, and by extension, a type of subdivision.Mormonismcountableuncountable

6. A person under guardianship.countableobsoleteuncountable

1. (transitive) To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard.Examples: "Whoſe gates he found faſt ſhut, ne liuing wight To ward the ſame, nor anſwere commers call"transitive

2. (transitive) To defend, to protect.Examples: "Tell him it was a hand that warded him From a thousand dangers."; "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."transitive

3. (transitive) To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches. (usually followed by off)Examples: "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, […]"; "Now wards a felling blow, now strikes again."; "The pointed javelin warded off his rage."Synonyms: ward offtransitive

4. (intransitive) To be vigilant; to keep guard.Examples: "They for vs fight, they watch and dewly ward, And their bright Squadrons round about vs plant […]"; "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."intransitive

5. (intransitive) To act on the defensive with a weapon.intransitive

1. (countable) An English surname originating as an occupation for a guard or watchman.countable

2. (countable) An English male given name.countable