guard

Less common meanings

9. 9
   train officialnouncountable

   A member of a train's crew, other than the driver, who is responsible for the safe running of the train and its passengers; traditionally the guard rode at the rear.

   The guard signaled the driver that all passengers had boarded safely.

   Two guards were rostered for the overnight freight service.

   Similarconductor

   Note

   This is the railway role that North American usage broadly calls the conductor. In Xavier Herbert's Capricornia (1938), an engineer who needed to stop had to whistle to the guard to apply the van's hand-brake, and 'guards did not always hear'. The scene is a reminder that the post once meant working the brakes as well as watching over the train. Source

   Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 6 facts

   • The railway guard broadly corresponds to the North American conductor. en.wikipedia.org
   • Xavier Herbert wrote Capricornia. en.wikipedia.org
   • Capricornia was first published in 1938. adb.anu.edu.au
   • The novel describes an engineer whistling to request application of the van's hand-brake. archive.org
   • The quoted words occur in the novel's narration. archive.org
   • A guard's historical duties included operating brakes. tenterfieldrailwaymuseum.com
10. 10
    sword partnouncountable

    The part of a sword positioned to protect the wielder's hand from the opponent's blade.

    The blade snapped, but the ornate guard remained intact.

    He gripped the hilt just below the curved guard.

    Similarcrossguard, quillon

    Note

    The guard is one piece of a larger whole: it belongs to the hilt, the end of the sword that is held. A crossguard is a guard set crosswise to the blade, and each of its arms is a quillon. Guard is the word that needs no explaining, and it is the one to use when the exact shape does not matter. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 2 facts

    • The guard belongs to the hilt, the sword's handle. en.wikipedia.org
    • A crossguard is a transverse form of guard; a quillon is either projecting arm of that crossguard. These terms do not describe every form of guard. tf.uni-kiel.de
11. 11
    grapplingnouncountable

    A ground-grappling position in which the fighter on their back uses their legs to control and limit the opponent.

    He swept his opponent from the guard and took the top position.

    Strong competitors can threaten submissions directly from the guard.

    Note

    In this grappling position, being on your back is not the same as losing. In arts such as Brazilian jiu-jitsu, the fighter underneath uses legs and hips to control the opponent's distance and posture, defending against strikes while setting up sweeps and submissions. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • Being on one's back in guard does not itself mean losing; guard permits offensive action. en.wikipedia.org
    • The bottom fighter uses legs and hip movement to control distance. gracieuniversity.com
    • Controlling the opponent's posture and blocking punches are components of guard technique. gracieuniversity.com
    • Guard permits defense against punches while preparing sweeps and submissions. gc2.gracieuniversity.com
12. 12
    nounIrelandcountable

    A police officer, particularly a member of An Garda Síochána, the Irish police force.

    A guard pulled the driver over for speeding on the motorway.

    Two guards arrived at the scene within minutes of the call.

    Similarofficer, policeman, garda

    Note

    Irish English uses this as an everyday word for a police officer, a member of the Garda. Guard and garda are doublets: one reached English through French and the other through Irish. The usage is official as well as colloquial. Anastasia Dukova's 2016 history of the Dublin Metropolitan Police notes that the Garda Regulations 1924 spoke of a candidate's 'appointment as a guard'. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • Guard and garda are doublets, entering English through French and Irish respectively. en.wiktionary.org
    • Anastasia Dukova wrote a history of the Dublin Metropolitan Police first published in 2016. link.springer.com
    • Dukova describes the 1924 regulations using the phrase 'appointment as a guard', supporting historical official use. en.wiktionary.org
13. 13
    Russian elite unitnouncountableplural

    Any of various elite military units with a special status, often capitalized and plural, such as the Guards regiments of the British Army or the Guards formations of Russia and the Soviet Union.

    Officers of the Imperial Guard lined the steps of the Winter Palace for the ceremony.

    After independence, several post-Soviet armies kept their Guards divisions and the battle honors that came with them.

    Note

    In this sense the word is a title of honor more than a job description. The title marks a formation as elite. It does not mean the unit's role is protection. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 3 facts

    • Guards is an honorific designation awarded to military formations. lonesentry.com
    • The title signifies elite status. en.wikipedia.org
    • The designation does not specify a protective role. en.wikipedia.org
14. 14
    nounAustraliacountable

    On a car, the body panel shaped around a wheel arch, particularly at the front.

    A flying stone chipped the paint on the car's front guard.

    After the accident, the panel beater replaced the dented front guard on her ute.

    Similarfender, wing

    Note

    This is Australian car talk, used easily among drivers and enthusiasts. Overloaded cars have tires that rub on the guards, and a bad crash can leave a front guard bent into the front tire. Front and rear guards are told apart. The plural is natural when both sides of the car are meant, as when a heavily loaded car's rear tires hit the guards. Source

    Checked 1 Nov 2026 · 2 facts

    • Added weight can cause a car's rear tires to rub against its guards. en.wiktionary.org
    • Collision damage can leave a front guard bent into the front tire. en.wiktionary.org
15. 15
    code checknouncountable

    In programming, a Boolean expression that must evaluate to true for a branch of execution to continue.

    The function returns early when the guard fails.

    Each branch is protected by a guard that tests the input.

    Note

    Programmers describe guards as passing or failing. A guard is attached to a branch or clause and decides whether that code path is taken at all. When it fails, control moves to an alternative path or to the next matching clause, which is why guards are often used to return early from a function. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 3 facts

    • A guard determines whether its associated branch executes. erlang.org
    • A failed guard can cause evaluation to proceed to the next guarded alternative. haskell.org
    • Guards are used to return early from functions when required conditions are unmet. microsoft.github.io
16. 16
    cricket stancenoununcountable

    In cricket, the position on the popping crease where a batter makes a mark to align the bat and stance with the wicket.

    He took guard on middle stump before the first delivery.

    The batter checked her guard again after every over.

    UsageMost often in take guard: she took guard on middle stump.

    Note

    The batter asks the umpire for a line, such as middle stump, and scratches a mark on the crease to match it. That mark gives a fixed reference for judging which deliveries to play and which to leave. It has nothing to do with protecting the body. Source

    Checked 2 Nov 2026 · 4 facts

    • The batter asks the umpire to identify a chosen stump line, including middle stump. informcricket.co.uk
    • The batter makes a physical mark to record the alignment. informcricket.co.uk
    • The mark provides a positional reference that helps the batter decide which deliveries to play or leave. cricketworld.com
    • In this sense, guard concerns batting alignment rather than bodily protective equipment. en.wikipedia.org
17. 17
    emergency radionoununcountable

    In aviation, the radio frequency reserved for emergency communications, typically 121.5 MHz for civilian use.

    The crew broadcast a mayday on guard after the engine failed.

    Controllers asked the off-course aircraft to check in on guard.

    Note

    Pilots use the word without an article: an aircraft broadcasts on guard or checks in on guard. Alongside the civilian 121.5 MHz there is a military counterpart at 243.0 MHz. Both are monitored continuously by air traffic services and by many aircraft. That is why a crew in trouble, or one out of contact, turns to guard. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • The civilian and military emergency frequencies are 121.5 MHz and 243.0 MHz respectively. faa.gov
    • Air traffic services continuously monitor both frequencies; the FAA confirms this requirement, with some facility exceptions. faa.gov
    • Many aircraft maintain a listening watch on the guard frequencies. faa.gov
    • A crew can use guard for distress or urgency communications. faa.gov
    • A crew that has lost contact can attempt to re-establish communications on 121.5 MHz. icao.int
18. 18
    watch chainnouncountable

    A chain for securing a pocket watch, attaching it to the wearer's clothing to prevent loss.

    He tucked his watch into his pocket and let the guard dangle from the buttonhole.

    The pawnbroker valued the heavy gold guard more than the watch itself.

    Similarchain, fob

19. 19
    trim edgesverbtransitive

    To protect the edge of something, especially with an ornamental border; to trim or face it with strips, lace, and similar materials.

    The body of your discourse is sometime guarded with fragments, and the guards are but slightly basted on neither.

    1598, William Shakespeare, “Much Adoe about Nothing”

    Similartrim, edge, border, face

    Note

    This is a tailor's sense, and Shakespeare turns it into a joke. In Much Ado About Nothing, a speech is 'guarded with fragments', and 'the guards are but slightly basted on'. The trimmings themselves are called guards, and here they are only loosely tacked to the garment. The image depends on knowing that a guarded garment was an ornamented one. Source

    Checked 30 Oct 2026 · 5 facts

    • Guard has a tailoring sense involving ornamental borders or facings. en.wiktionary.org
    • Both quoted phrases occur in Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing, in Benedick's speech in Act 1, scene 1. folger.edu
    • Guards are ornamental trimmings, such as lace or borders. upload.wikimedia.org
    • The sewing image describes the trimmings as loosely tacked on: basting means sewing with long or loose stitches. en.wiktionary.org
    • The metaphor depends on the historical clothing sense of guarded, meaning ornamented with borders or trimmings. upload.wikimedia.org
20. 20
    verbobsolete

    To fasten by binding; to gird or secure something tightly with a band or cord.