a person charged with the care or custody of persons, animals, or things; keeper.
the chief administrative officer in charge of a prison.
any of various public officials charged with superintendence, as over a port or wildlife.
(in Connecticut) the chief executive officer of a borough.
(formerly) the principal official in a region, town, etc.
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.
Canadian. the head of certain county or local councils.
a member of the governing body of a guild.
a churchwarden.
a gatekeeper.
a person who has the charge or care of something, esp a building, or someone
any of various public officials, esp one responsible for the enforcement of certain regulations
a person employed to patrol a national park or safari park
the chief officer in charge of a prison
the principal or president of any of various universities or colleges
See churchwarden
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 -ing 3
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English wardoun, wardon(e); of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French or Anglo-Latin wardō (inflectional stem wardōn-)
The person who works at a jail as the boss of all the prison guards is called the warden. A warden's job is to manage a prison — so while she may be uniformed and armed like a guard, her actual tasks may look more like a desk job. The noun warden has traditionally been used to talk about someone in an official supervisory position, especially in British English, but the prison guard definition goes back to the early thirteenth century, when it meant "one who guards." The root is the Old English word weard, "a watchman or sentry."
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Results underscored “our ability to deliver in today’s unprecedented global demand environment,” said CEO Kathy Warden in a news release.
From Barron's • Apr. 21, 2026
“With our diverse portfolio, robust manufacturing capacity and proven performance, we’re delivering differentiating technology at speed and scale in support of our customers’ needs,” Warden said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 21, 2026
Brands can succeed in AI search by “returning to the roots of who they are, what their value proposition is to their customers, how they’re telegraphing that in the market,” Warden said.
From The Wall Street Journal • Dec. 18, 2025
Warden added that the defense contractor’s 2025 forecast included some delays to program awards, but that the company was assuming the government could find a way to reopen by roughly the middle of November.
From MarketWatch • Nov. 9, 2025
Once he focused on a goal, the Warden refused to quit.
From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French
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.
