steward
Americannoun
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stewards
plural
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a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.
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a person who has charge of the household of another, buying or obtaining food, directing the servants, etc.
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an employee who has charge of the table, wine, servants, etc., in a club, restaurant, or the like.
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a person who attends to the domestic concerns of persons on board a vessel, as in overseeing maids and waiters.
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an employee on a ship, train, or bus who waits on and is responsible for the comfort of passengers, takes orders for or distributes food, etc.
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a flight attendant.
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a person appointed by an organization or group to supervise the affairs of that group at certain functions.
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U.S. Navy. a petty officer in charge of officer's quarters and mess.
verb (used with object)
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stewards,
present (3rd person singular)
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stewarded,
past participle, past
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stewarding
present participle
verb (used without object)
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stewards,
present (3rd person singular)
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stewarded,
past participle, past
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stewarding
present participle
noun
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a person who administers the property, house, finances, etc, of another
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a person who manages the eating arrangements, staff, or service at a club, hotel, etc
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a person who attends to passengers on an aircraft, ship or train
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a mess attendant in a naval mess afloat or ashore
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a person who helps to supervise some event or proceedings in an official capacity
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short for shop steward
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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stewardsimple
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stewardssimple
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have stewardedperfect
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has stewardedperfect
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am stewardingprogressive
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are stewardingprogressive
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is stewardingprogressive
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have been stewardingperfect progressive
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has been stewardingperfect progressive
Past
-
stewardedsimple
-
had stewardedperfect
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was stewardingprogressive
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were stewardingprogressive
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had been stewardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of steward
before 900; Middle English; Old English stīweard, stigweard, equivalent to stig- (sense uncertain; probably “house, hall”; see sty 1) + weard ward ( def. )
Explanation
A steward is someone who takes care of the grounds or animals of a particular place. If your parents are always traveling and you have to take care of your six younger siblings, you probably feel like the steward of the house. You might have heard the term "stewardess," a female flight attendant, but the name has trickled out of use in favor of the gender-neutral "flight attendant." A steward is the male version of that. Anyone who takes care of places or people is a steward. You can be a steward of artifacts from an architectural dig. You can also be elected to be the steward of your co-workers retirement fund. Either way, someone's trusting you with their stuff.
Vocabulary lists containing steward
This Week in Words: October 28 - November 3, 2017
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"Why Exploring the Ocean Is Mankind's Next Giant Leap," Vocabulary from the commentary
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Theodore Roosevelt on "New Nationalism" (1910)
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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.
See Examples For:
Every discussion about the state of “SNL” must include a mention of how much longer the show’s steward, who is 81, will remain at the helm.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 24, 2026
She met her partner Pete, a steward, at work, but soon after she began experiencing severe migraines and sought medical help.
From BBC ● Sep. 13, 2026
Because a steward of the hundreds might be able to benefit financially from the role, or promote the interests of the crown, it was seen as a conflict of interest.
From BBC ● Sep. 5, 2026
“The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of Warner’s CNN,” Ellison wrote in the op-ed.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Aug. 12, 2026
Then the steward said, “You must give it to me.”
From "Crispin: The Cross of Lead" by Avi
The stewards took no action, feeling that "both drivers had contributed to the incident".
From BBC ● Oct. 10, 2026
"It is irresponsible for us as stewards of our shareholders' money to be relying on a business that does what this company does, in terms of its public statements," he said.
From BBC ● Sep. 12, 2026
“We don’t own the land, but we certainly feel like we have an immense responsibility to be good stewards and caretakers of the land,” said Danielle Cirelli, chair of the Habematolel Pomo of Upper Lake.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 11, 2026
"Our seas are not an empty void or a buffer zone between global powers -- they are our estate, our livelihood, and our identity as stewards of the sea."
From Barron's ● Jul. 10, 2026
When Pollard returned from his meeting with the stewards that night, there was more bad news.
From "Seabiscuit: An American Legend" by Laura Hillenbrand
She also stewarded the creation of a Bureau of Homelessness Oversight within the city’s Housing Department that is responsible for coordinating and overseeing the city’s homelessness system.
From Los Angeles Times ● Aug. 23, 2026
“Lovingly stewarded by the same family for nearly 70 years, this grand residence has been thoughtfully updated and modernized in preparation for the next chapter in its illustrious history.”
From MarketWatch ● Apr. 14, 2026
The shipments could be the start of a stream of exports stewarded by the American government and handled by European companies that are used to working in markets many Western firms wouldn’t touch.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 17, 2026
Much the same as the teams stewarded by the man he's just surpassed, the late Craig Brown.
From BBC ● Oct. 12, 2025
When we closed up at nine he went to some other part of the hotel and stewarded.
From Working With the Working Woman by Cornelia Stratton Parker
It added member clubs had already provided "a mandate to lobby for appropriate reform" which had "not kept pace with significant developments in stadium management, safety and stewarding".
From BBC ● Sep. 24, 2026
And we need to fall into line in “removing regulatory barriers that hinder U.S. technological and economic leadership while responsibly stewarding coastal resources.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 11, 2026
Commercial revenues from London Stadium are expected to fall if West Ham play in the Championship, while stewarding costs over 23 home games would be greater than 19 Premier League home matches.
From BBC ● May 18, 2026
But stewarding that authority demands humility and faith in the university’s distinct role in cultivating debate—neither proscribing questions nor prescribing answers.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 8, 2026
And as for stewarding, I think it's time my brother gave that up, and took his House in hand on his sister's retiring.
From Our Mutual Friend by Charles Dickens
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