stand guard

Idioms

Watch over, act as a lookout, as in We'll climb the tree and get the apples if Josh will stand guard, or There's a parking space; stand guard while I make a U-turn and get to it. This term alludes to the military defense of posting guards to watch for the enemy.

Example Sentences

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stand guard

Two Peshmerga come to stand guard behind him.

From BBC ● Mar. 13, 2026

Wolves have been observed swatting the birds away, even appearing to designate a pack member to stand guard.

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026

Three giant horse chestnut trees, each over 80 feet tall, stand guard in front of my house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

People are taking each other’s kids to school, organizing shifts for people to stand guard and protect immigrants in their neighborhoods.

From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2026

The town of Kingston is straight ahead, and thickets of evergreen trees stand guard in every direction.

From "I Can Make This Promise" by Christine Day

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

stand guard

Example Sentences

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