lifeguard

American  

[lahyf-gahrd] / ˈlaɪfˌgɑrd /

noun

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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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

Witness Sandy Barnes, a former lifeguard who was at the scene before police arrived, said the girl's father went into the river in an attempt to rescue her.

From BBC • May 26, 2026

Hernandez said he was in the process of selling one to a Mexican local who works as a lifeguard in El Paso.

From The Wall Street Journal • Apr. 29, 2026

In May 2024, Jeffrey Little, an evangelical Christian county lifeguard, sued the county for requiring he work feet away from the flag.

From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 11, 2026

I walk a frozen Bothnian Gulf at Nallikari, an obscured lighthouse, a delinquent lifeguard stand, and makeshift saunas stand on white expanse like archaeology.

From Salon • Mar. 8, 2026

No one was allowed to swim along the wall because the water was very deep and full of thick weeds, and because the lifeguard was on the other side.

From "Bless Me, Ultima" by Rudolfo Anaya