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Synonyms

stand guard

Idioms  

  1. Watch over, act as a lookout, as in We'll climb the tree and get the apples if Josh will stand guard, or There's a parking space; stand guard while I make a U-turn and get to it. This term alludes to the military defense of posting guards to watch for the enemy.

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:

Wolves have been observed swatting the birds away, even appearing to designate a pack member to stand guard.

From Barron's ● Mar. 12, 2026

Three giant horse chestnut trees, each over 80 feet tall, stand guard in front of my house.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Feb. 4, 2026

People are taking each other’s kids to school, organizing shifts for people to stand guard and protect immigrants in their neighborhoods.

From Salon ● Jan. 26, 2026

Incoherent hieroglyphs plate the walls, plastic pharaohs stand guard in the check-in lane, and taxis idle under the haunches of a gargantuan Sphinx.

From Slate ● Nov. 18, 2025

Two Guardians stand guard in front of the gate.

From "The Manifestor Prophecy" by Angie Thomas

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.

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