lifeguard

American  

[lahyf-gahrd] / ˈlaɪfˌgɑrd /

noun

• lifeguards
  plural

1. an expert swimmer employed, as at a beach or pool, to protect bathers from drowning or other accidents and dangers.

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verb (used without object)

1. to work as a lifeguard.

lifeguard British  

/ ˈlaɪfˌɡɑːd /

noun

1. Also called: life-saver.  a person present at a beach or pool to guard people against the risk of drowning

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Other Word Forms

Noun Inflected Forms

• lifeguards
  plural

Etymology

Origin of lifeguard

First recorded in 1640–50; life + guard

Explanation

A lifeguard is a person whose job involves watching over swimmers and rescuing them if they're in trouble. You have to do more than just twirl your whistle to be a lifeguard; you'd better be a very good swimmer as well. At the beach and the pool, lifeguards wear swimsuits and carry whistles for catching the attention of rule-breakers, like kids who are dunking each other or jumping into the shallow end. Lifeguards sit perched on high chairs, ready to swim to the aid of someone who's drowning or injured. In the seventeenth century, a lifeguard was a "solider's bodyguard," and by the late 1800s the meaning changed to "watcher of bathers."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

lifeguard lifeguards

At a local pool she joined a group of teenagers and received her lifeguard certification.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

The need for a lifeguard is not completely out of the realm of needed resources at the park.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 13, 2026

"It breaks my heart, to be fair. It's such a heartbreaking situation to watch," the former lifeguard said.

From BBC ● Aug. 10, 2026

Last weekend, lifeguards in Los Angeles County performed a record 1,950 ocean rescues -- numbers that lifeguard captain Pono Barnes called "staggering."

From Barron's ● Aug. 1, 2026

Quite a few people were already gathered around the body, watching the lifeguard work, asking, “Who is it?”

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya

Lifesaving Association warns prospective lifeguards that “a panicked victim, desperate for buoyant support, is a very real threat to an approaching rescuer.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 20, 2026

An 8-foot hammerhead was briefly hooked by two fishermen on the Malibu pier that year, prompting lifeguards to warn kayakers, surfers and paddlers in the water.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

Since 2018, the California Beach Shark Safety program at Cal State Long Beach has tagged great whites in local waters and shared their locations with lifeguards.

From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 15, 2026

In addition lifeguards spend a large amount of time preventing people getting into trouble in the first place.

From BBC ● Jul. 31, 2026

Even the affluent young are increasingly unlikely to spend their summers learning how the “other half” lives, as lifeguards, waitresses, or housekeepers at resort hotels.

From "Nickel and Dimed: On (Not) Getting By in America" by Barbara Ehrenreich