custodian
Americannoun
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a person who has custody; keeper; guardian.
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a person entrusted with guarding or maintaining a property; janitor.
noun
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a person who has custody, as of a prisoner, ward, etc
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a guardian or keeper, as of an art collection, etc
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Etymology
Origin of custodian
1775–85; < Latin custōdi ( a ) watchman ( see custody) + -an
Compare meaning
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Explanation
You may know the custodian at your school — the person who's in charge of taking care of the building, in keeping it clean, making sure the heat works, and the roof doesn't leak. The word custodian comes from Latin custos, meaning "guardian," and anyone who looks after something can be a custodian. You might be the custodian of your club's records — you take care of the files and keep them up to date. Or you could be the custodian of the crown jewels — you hold the keys to the treasury and it's your job to make sure the jewels don't get lost or stolen.
Vocabulary lists containing custodian
Frindle
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Unit 1: Ecological Systems
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Awkward
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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.
It has long been an important source of legitimacy for the Al Saud dynasty, whose monarch has the title "Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques", in Mecca and Medina.
From Barron's • May 26, 2026
And Custodian Golf consultancy reports that nearly 20% of clubs are financially at risk, a factor that could influence decisions to release land for housing.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
Custodian Hilda Sotelo, 49, voiced similar concerns, saying the sprawling terminals of LAX once had double the number of cleaning staff.
From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 8, 2023
Custodian of the Church since Chrysostomos's death, Georgios was close to the late Archbishop, who notably recognised the independence of the Orthodox Church of Ukraine from Russia.
From Reuters • Dec. 24, 2022
Behind him, a transparent Aboriginal Custodian whispers calmly his Dreamtime story of creation by a fish.
From "The Last Cuentista" by Donna Barba Higuera
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.
