custodial
Americanadjective
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of or relating to custody.
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of, relating to, or appropriate to a custodian.
a building superintendent's custodial duties.
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responsible for or providing protective supervision and guardianship rather than seeking to improve or cure.
Overcrowding forces many mental hospitals to provide only custodial care.
noun
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of custodial
Explanation
Someone whose job or task is custodial is supposed to take care of you. A babysitter's job is custodial. A guardian or caregiver of any kind has a custodial duty — he or she supervises and protects another person, usually a child. After a divorce, there's sometimes only one custodial parent, while the other only visits occasionally. When a criminal is sent to prison, it's often called a "custodial sentence," because the convicted person is being watched over and supervised in jail. The Latin root is custodia, "guarding or keeping."
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.
The defence barrister also raised concerns about the impact that a custodial sentence for Mariano could have on her family.
From BBC ● Oct. 20, 2026
“A substantial custodial sentence is necessary to deter other private clients from attempting to corrupt law-enforcement officers by paying them to perform acts they could never lawfully accomplish themselves,” Assistant U.S.
From Los Angeles Times ● Oct. 5, 2026
Under the scheme, eligible prisoners will be released after serving a third of their total custodial sentence rather than after 40% or 50% of their term.
From BBC ● Oct. 1, 2026
Medicare generally does not cover long-term custodial nursing-home care.
From MarketWatch ● Sep. 25, 2026
It listed as job duties the usual supervision and custodial work, but there was also a line about helping to counsel and reform the prisoner.
From "Newjack: Guarding Sing Sing" by Ted Conover
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