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Synonyms

bodyguard

American  
[bod-ee-gahrd] / ˈbɒd iˌgɑrd /

noun

  1. a person or group of persons employed to guard an individual, as a high official, from bodily harm.

  2. a retinue; escort.

verb (used with or without object)

  1. to provide with or act as a bodyguard.

bodyguard British  
/ ˈbɒdɪˌɡɑːd /

noun

  1. a person or group of people who escort and protect someone, esp a political figure

"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

Etymology

Origin of bodyguard

First recorded in 1725–35; body + guard

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.

For the remainder of his time in Venezuela, he had a bodyguard by his side.

From The Wall Street Journal • Jan. 19, 2026

Venezuela's interim president Delcy Rodriguez on Monday added a former bodyguard of her ousted predecessor Nicolas Maduro to her cabinet in one of the first ministerial changes of her administration.

From Barron's • Jan. 12, 2026

JOP is often flanked by bodyguard Mario Rogelio, who once got his foot run over by a car while protecting the band in New York City.

From Los Angeles Times • Jan. 8, 2026

Xolani says that his brother left South Africa on 8 July, thinking he was going to be trained as a bodyguard for MK.

From BBC • Nov. 28, 2025

The first record of this unusual arrangement was when Virgil Butler had been contracted as servant, bodyguard, and cook to Lord Hugo de Fole for one of the first great Norman crusades.

From "Artemis Fowl" by Eoin Colfer

Definitions 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.