guard

«guard» in Mova's school dictionary: a person whose job is to protect a place or people, or to… — its meaning for a pupil, its sense in the lessons and examples, with 5 sentences of Mova's corpora that use it.

part of speech

noun (a guard, guards; guard — protection); verb (guard, guards, guarded, guarding)

meaning for a pupil

1) A guard is a person whose job is to protect a place or people, or to watch prisoners. tree →

2) A guard is something that covers or protects, like a fire guard or a shin guard. tree →

3) To guard means to protect or watch something carefully. tree →

4) On a British train, the guard is the person in charge. tree →

sense in the lessons

In everyday life, security guards protect shops and banks, and lifeguards watch swimmers at pools and beaches (swim between the flags). In sport, shin guards and mouth guards protect players, and you «guard» a player in basketball or netball. In safety, a fire guard stops children touching a fire, and «be on your guard» means be careful. In stories, guards stand at castle gates and the Queen's Guard wears tall hats. Phrase: «caught off guard» = surprised.

examples

• The guard stood at the castle gate. tree →
• Wear shin guards when you play football. tree →
• Swim where the lifeguard can see you. tree →
• The dog guarded the house. tree →
• Put the guard in front of the fire. tree →
• Be on your guard near busy roads. tree →
• The question caught me off guard. tree →
• In netball, you have to guard your player. tree →
• Here, guards! away with him to the prison. tree →

note

The «u» is silent: say «gard». Countable noun. «Guardian» = a person who looks after a child. «Lifeguard», «bodyguard», «safeguard». «Off guard» = not ready.

In the corpora

• Crocodiles lay eggs in nests; the mother guards them and carries the hatchlings to water in her mouth.
• In Shrek, a dragon as big as a castle breathes great flames, flies and guards a castle full of treasure.
• Donkeys, llamas and sheepdogs are used to guard flocks, and a guard donkey will chase away foxes and stray dogs.
• Some ants guard aphids from ladybirds and stroke them for sweet honeydew, and some keep aphid eggs in the nest over winter.
• Cactus spines are leaves turned into spikes that guard the water inside and give a little shade.

Trees and pragmatics

Every meaning and example of «guard» parsed by Mova, each sentence with its dependency tree and frames.