steward
Americannoun
-
stewards
plural
-
a person who manages another's property or financial affairs; one who administers anything as the agent of another or others.
-
a person who has charge of the household of another, buying or obtaining food, directing the servants, etc.
-
an employee who has charge of the table, wine, servants, etc., in a club, restaurant, or the like.
-
a person who attends to the domestic concerns of persons on board a vessel, as in overseeing maids and waiters.
-
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.
-
a flight attendant.
-
a person appointed by an organization or group to supervise the affairs of that group at certain functions.
-
U.S. Navy. a petty officer in charge of officer's quarters and mess.
verb (used with object)
-
stewards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stewarded,
past participle, past
-
stewarding
present participle
verb (used without object)
-
stewards,
present (3rd person singular)
-
stewarded,
past participle, past
-
stewarding
present participle
noun
-
a person who administers the property, house, finances, etc, of another
-
a person who manages the eating arrangements, staff, or service at a club, hotel, etc
-
a person who attends to passengers on an aircraft, ship or train
-
a mess attendant in a naval mess afloat or ashore
-
a person who helps to supervise some event or proceedings in an official capacity
-
short for shop steward
verb
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Nouns
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
-
stewardsimple
-
stewardssimple
-
have stewardedperfect
-
has stewardedperfect
-
am stewardingprogressive
-
are stewardingprogressive
-
is stewardingprogressive
-
have been stewardingperfect progressive
-
has been stewardingperfect progressive
Past
-
stewardedsimple
-
had stewardedperfect
-
was stewardingprogressive
-
were stewardingprogressive
-
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
Looking to grow your vocabulary? Check out this interactive, curated word list from our team of English language specialists at Vocabulary.com – one of over 17,000 lists we've built to help learners worldwide!
"Why Exploring the Ocean Is Mankind's Next Giant Leap," Vocabulary from the commentary
Interested in learning more words like this one? Our team at Vocabulary.com has got you covered! You can review flashcards, quiz yourself, practice spelling, and more – and it's all completely free to use!
Theodore Roosevelt on "New Nationalism" (1910)
Want to remember this word for good? Start your learning journey today with our library of interactive, themed word lists built by the experts at Vocabulary.com – we'll help you make the most of your study time!
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:
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 Moreno Family has been honored to steward the Angels for 23 years,” the ex-Angels owner said in a statement.
From Los Angeles Times ● Sep. 1, 2026
"The issue is whether I can be trusted as a steward of Warner's CNN. There has been speculation about my politics, my loyalties, my intentions," he wrote.
From Barron's ● Aug. 4, 2026
Known as industry super funds, these were originally set up by employers and unions to steward the savings of workers in the 1970s and 1980s.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026
The housekeeper came forward, and told them it was a picture of a young gentleman, the son of her late master’s steward, who had been brought up by him at his own expense.
From "Pride and Prejudice" by Jane Austen
Antonelli is another driver off to the stewards, in his case for an alleged yellow-flag infringement.
From BBC ● Jul. 25, 2026
“We want to be able to be responsible stewards of this precious resource, but also make sure that the patient gets the the best treatment.”
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 2026
“We are honored to be entrusted as the next stewards of the Seattle Seahawks,” he said.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 12, 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
“Ten stewards and ten spades should do it,” said Marsh.
From "A Dance with Dragons" by George R. R. Martin
The Lauensteins, who spent years scouring architectural salvage sites for items including wrought iron, hardware, lighting and doors to decorate their home, largely stewarded the transformation, with occasional guidance from interior designers.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jul. 21, 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
By contrast, parks owned and operated by tribes are better stewarded.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Oct. 16, 2025
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
“Maybe they don’t need to know about all the fighting that we have to do before they get to go out and enjoy and be tribal guardians stewarding their land.”
From Los Angeles Times ● May 10, 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
"He's had 80 years of stewarding and looking after Shuna and trying to get all sorts of businesses going and has absolutely loved it the whole of his life," Mr Gully said.
From BBC ● Jun. 24, 2025
He said the tribe’s members feel delighted to be once again stewarding these lands and waterways, as their ancestors once did.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 14, 2025
The very survival of democracy as a functional reality is dependent upon our acceptance, as individuals, of adult roles in conceiving and stewarding the shape and direction of society.
From Open Source Democracy by Douglas Rushkoff
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.
