lifeguard
Americannoun
verb (used without object)
noun
Other Word Forms
Noun Inflected Forms
Etymology
Origin of lifeguard
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."
Vocabulary lists containing lifeguard
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.
See Examples For:
Bernard Roche, a 75-year-old former lifeguard, evacuated his cabin in the woods on Wednesday.
From Barron's ● Jul. 23, 2026
The death of two men who went into the sea to help two children has prompted calls for more lifeguard provision.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
“Smaller, separated shade coverings also help maintain open pathways for emergency responders, lifeguard vehicles and medical personnel who may need to reach an emergency quickly.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 5, 2026
When Janet Fash applied to be a New York City lifeguard in 1979 at age 19, the city, still digging out of the 1975 fiscal crisis, was mired in dysfunction.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
And then it went dark and we climbed up onto this locked-up lifeguard tower and leaned our backs against the wall facing the ocean.
From "We Were Here" by Matt De La Peña
The beach is only covered by lifeguards during the summer school holidays, which have yet to start.
From BBC ● Jul. 14, 2026
"There hasn't been any lifeguards all year," he said.
From BBC ● Jul. 13, 2026
It also highlighted a conflict of interest: Because Mr. Stein staffed both the city department and the union, lifeguards seeking help from the union might find that their managers were the ones handling their grievances.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 24, 2026
The lawsuit alleges that the cameras may have been installed as far back as 2019 and captured images of seasonal lifeguards, including teens as young as 15.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 24, 2026
One of his friends came up with the phrase “health epidemic,” and they were going on to the parents and lifeguards that we needed to be ejected to prevent an outbreak at the pool.
From "The Glass Castle" by Jeannette Walls
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.
