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wards - 5 dictionary results
Ward's Natural Science
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-wards

 
Use wards in a Sentence
var. of -ward: towards; afterwards.
Origin:
ME; OE -weardes, equiv. to -weard toward (see ward ) + -es -s 1

Usage note:
See -ward.

ward

  [wawrd]
–noun
1. a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes.
2. one of the districts into which certain English and Scottish boroughs are divided.
3. a division, floor, or room of a hospital for a particular class or group of patients: a convalescent ward; a critical ward.
4. any of the separate divisions of a prison.
5. a political subdivision of a parish in Louisiana.
6. Mormon Church. one of the subdivisions of a stake, presided over by a bishop.
7. Fortification. an open space within or between the walls of a castle or fortified place: the castle's lower ward.
8. Law.
a. a person, esp. a minor, who has been legally placed under the care of a guardian or a court.
b. the state of being under the care or control of a legal guardian.
c. guardianship over a minor or some other person legally incapable of managing his or her own affairs.
9. the state of being under restraining guard or in custody.
10. a person who is under the protection or control of another.
11. a movement or posture of defense, as in fencing.
12. a curved ridge of metal inside a lock, forming an obstacle to the passage of a key that does not have a corresponding notch.
13. the notch or slot in the bit of a key into which such a ridge fits.
14. the act of keeping guard or protective watch: watch and ward.
15. Archaic. a company of guards or a garrison.
–verb (used with object)
16. to avert, repel, or turn aside (danger, harm, an attack, an assailant, etc.) (usually fol. by off): to ward off a blow; to ward off evil.
17. to place in a ward, as of a hospital or prison.
18. Archaic. to protect; guard.
Origin:
bef. 900; (n.) ME warde, OE weard; (v.) ME warden, OE weardian; c. MD waerden, G warten; cf. guard

Related forms:
wardless, adjective

Synonyms:
1. precinct. 10. protégé. 16. parry, prevent.

Ward

  [wawrd]
–noun
1. (Aaron) Montgomery, 1843–1913, U.S. merchant and mail-order retailer.
2. Ar⋅te⋅mas  [ahr-tuh-muhs] , 1727–1800, American general in the American Revolution.
3. Ar⋅te⋅mus  [ahr-tuh-muhs] , (Charles Farrar Browne), 1834–67, U.S. humorist.
4. Barbara (Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth), 1914–81, English economist and author.
5. Mrs. Humphry (Mary Augusta Arnold), 1851–1920, English novelist, born in Tasmania.
6. Sir Joseph George, 1856–1930, New Zealand statesman, born in Australia: Prime Minister 1906–12, 1928–30.
7. Lester Frank, 1841–1913, U.S. sociologist.
8. Nathaniel (“Theodore de la Guard”), 1578?–1652, English clergyman, lawyer, and author in America.
9. a male given name.

-ward

 
a native English suffix denoting spatial or temporal direction, as specified by the initial element: toward; seaward; afterward; backward.
Also, -wards.

Origin:
ME; OE -weard towards; c. G -wärts; akin to L vertere to turn (see verse )

Usage note:
Both -ward and -wards occur in such words as backward, forward, upward, and toward. The -ward form is by far the more common in edited American English writing.
Dictionary.com Unabridged
Based on the Random House Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2009.
Cite This Source Link To wards
ward   (wôrd)   
n.  
  1. A division of a city or town, especially an electoral district, for administrative and representative purposes.
  2. A district of some English and Scottish counties corresponding roughly to the hundred or the wapentake.
    1. A room in a hospital usually holding six or more patients.
    2. A division in a hospital for the care of a particular group of patients: a maternity ward.
    3. Law A minor or incompetent person placed under the care or protection of a guardian or court.
    4. A person under the protection or care of another.
    5. The projecting ridge of a lock or keyhole that prevents the turning of a key other than the proper one.
    6. The notch cut into a key that corresponds to such a ridge.
  4. One of the divisions of a penal institution, such as a prison.
  5. An open court or area of a castle or fortification enclosed by walls.
    1. Law A minor or incompetent person placed under the care or protection of a guardian or court.
    2. A person under the protection or care of another.
    3. The projecting ridge of a lock or keyhole that prevents the turning of a key other than the proper one.
    4. The notch cut into a key that corresponds to such a ridge.
  7. The state of being under guard; custody.
  8. The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship.
  9. A means of protection; a defense.
  10. A defensive movement or attitude, especially in fencing; a guard.
    1. The projecting ridge of a lock or keyhole that prevents the turning of a key other than the proper one.
    2. The notch cut into a key that corresponds to such a ridge.
tr.v.   ward·ed, ward·ing, wards
To guard; protect.
Phrasal Verb(s):
ward off
  1. To turn aside; parry: ward off an opponent's blows.
  2. To try to prevent; avert: took vitamins to ward off head colds.

[Middle English, action of guarding, from Old English weard, a watching, protection; see wer-3 in Indo-European roots.]
The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2009 by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Published by Houghton Mifflin Company. All rights reserved.
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Ward's Natural Science
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 wardsci.com
Montgomery Ward
 Shop Wards for Bedding, Home Decor, Furniture & More. Buy Today!
 www.Wards.com