custodian
Americannoun
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custodians
plural
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a person who has custody; keeper; guardian.
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a person entrusted with guarding or maintaining a property; janitor.
noun
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a person who has custody, as of a prisoner, ward, etc
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a guardian or keeper, as of an art collection, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of custodian
1775–85; < Latin custōdi ( a ) watchman ( see custody) + -an
Compare meaning
How does custodian compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:
Explanation
You may know the custodian at your school — the person who's in charge of taking care of the building, in keeping it clean, making sure the heat works, and the roof doesn't leak. The word custodian comes from Latin custos, meaning "guardian," and anyone who looks after something can be a custodian. You might be the custodian of your club's records — you take care of the files and keep them up to date. Or you could be the custodian of the crown jewels — you hold the keys to the treasury and it's your job to make sure the jewels don't get lost or stolen.
Vocabulary lists containing custodian
Frindle
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Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Awkward
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
For nonspouse beneficiaries to move inherited IRA assets while preserving their tax treatment, they must move the money directly from one custodian to another in a direct transfer.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Sep. 29, 2026
The council has described itself as the statue's custodian and said it had been in contact with the street artist's team.
From BBC ● Sep. 28, 2026
Who does the custodian say is the beneficiary?
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 7, 2026
“I think you have a few moments in life where you have the opportunity to own an asset and really be a custodian of something that should be multigenerational and iconic,” he said then.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026
The head custodian keeps a milk crate jammed in the door frame so he can read his paper in peace when no one’s looking.
From "Merci Suárez Changes Gears" by Meg Medina
The limits by the two biggest custodians have threatened to curb the growth of the strategy overall, although other custodians have begun accommodating investors who want to do it.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 15, 2026
South Cotswolds MP Roz Savage criticised Sir Ed's leadership ahead of conference, urging the party to rediscover its "insurgent spirit" rather than being the "polite custodians of a system that leaves people feeling powerless".
From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026
The GunaiKurnai, an Australian Aboriginal nation, are recognized as the traditional custodians of Gippsland and the southern Victorian Alps.
From Science Daily ● Sep. 15, 2026
Many of them had saved money while toiling as farmworkers, cooks, custodians and construction workers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 29, 2026
Nobody actually pushes the custodians out of the gym.
From "Linked" by Gordon Korman
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Get a wordDefinitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
