warden

[ wawr-dn ]
See synonyms for warden on Thesaurus.com
noun
  1. a person charged with the care or custody of persons, animals, or things; keeper.

  2. the chief administrative officer in charge of a prison.

  1. any of various public officials charged with superintendence, as over a port or wildlife.

  2. (in Connecticut) the chief executive officer of a borough.

  3. (formerly) the principal official in a region, town, etc.

  4. British.

    • (initial capital letter) a traditional title of the president or governor of certain schools and colleges: Warden of Merton College.

    • a member of a livery company of the City of London.

  5. Canadian. the head of certain county or local councils.

  6. a member of the governing body of a guild.

  7. a churchwarden.

  8. a gatekeeper.

Origin of warden

1
1175–1225; Middle English wardein<Old French (northeast dial.), equivalent to ward- (root of warder to guard; see ward) + -ein, variant of -ien, -enc<Germanic -ing-ing3

Other words for warden

Other words from warden

  • ward·en·ship, noun
  • sub·war·den, noun
  • sub·war·den·ship, noun
  • un·der·war·den, noun

Words Nearby warden

Other definitions for Warden (2 of 2)

Warden
[ wawr-dn ]

nounBritish: Archaic.
  1. any of several pears having a crisp, firm flesh, used in baking and cooking.

Origin of Warden

2
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English wardoun, wardon(e); of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French or Anglo-Latin wardō (inflectional stem wardōn-)

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use warden in a sentence

British Dictionary definitions for warden (1 of 2)

warden1

/ (ˈwɔːdən) /


noun
  1. a person who has the charge or care of something, esp a building, or someone

  2. any of various public officials, esp one responsible for the enforcement of certain regulations

  1. a person employed to patrol a national park or safari park

  2. mainly US and Canadian the chief officer in charge of a prison

  3. British the principal or president of any of various universities or colleges

Origin of warden

1
C13: from Old Northern French wardein, from warder to guard, of Germanic origin; see guard

Derived forms of warden

  • wardenry, noun

British Dictionary definitions for warden (2 of 2)

warden2

/ (ˈwɔːdən) /


noun
  1. a variety of pear that has crisp firm flesh and is used for cooking

Origin of warden

2
C15: of obscure origin

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012