bodyguard

[bod-ee-gahrd]

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

/ ˈbɒdɪˌɡɑːd /

noun

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

Word History and Origins

Origin of bodyguard¹

First recorded in 1725–35; body + guard

Example Sentences

In the Central African Republic, where the government is trying to put down a persistent insurgency, Wagner mercenaries had a hand in a variety of business ventures, from mining gold to providing presidential bodyguards.

Read more on The Wall Street Journal

Macron, who has been in office since 2017, was captured on video walking alone by the River Seine in Paris on Monday, followed by his bodyguards, as the latest crisis swirled around his presidency.

Read more on BBC

Defending teams tried to counteract this in the Premier League last season by putting an extra defender next to their keeper as a makeshift bodyguard, aiming to absorb the contact from the 'blocker'.

Read more on BBC

"But then I felt a hand on my shoulder. It was one of the Royal Archers, the Queen's bodyguards while she's in Holyrood, and a voice said 'Don't stress, she knows all about your condition'."

Read more on BBC

We do know that Hayya's son and the head of his office were killed, along with three bodyguards.

Read more on BBC

Related Words

• escort 
• security guard