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• warden
  warden

  noun

  a person charged with the care or custody of persons, animals, or things; keeper.
• Warden
  Warden

  noun

  any of several pears having a crisp, firm flesh, used in baking and cooking.

warden

¹ American  

[wawr-dn] / ˈwɔr dn /

noun

• wardens
  plural

1. a person charged with the care or custody of persons, animals, or things; keeper.

   Synonyms:

   superintendent, caretaker, custodian, guard, guardian, warder

2. the chief administrative officer in charge of a prison.

3. any of various public officials charged with superintendence, as over a port or wildlife.

4. air-raid warden.

5. firewarden.

6. (in Connecticut) the chief executive officer of a borough.

7. (formerly) the principal official in a region, town, etc.

8. British.

   1. (initial capital letter) a traditional title of the president or governor of certain schools and colleges.

      Warden of Merton College.

   2. a member of a livery company of the City of London.

9. Canadian. the head of certain county or local councils.

10. a member of the governing body of a guild.

11. a churchwarden.

12. a gatekeeper.

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Warden ² American  

[wawr-dn] / ˈwɔr dn /

noun

British: Archaic.

1. any of several pears having a crisp, firm flesh, used in baking and cooking.

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warden ¹ British  

/ ˈwɔːdən /

noun

1. a person who has the charge or care of something, esp a building, or someone

2. any of various public officials, esp one responsible for the enforcement of certain regulations

3. a person employed to patrol a national park or safari park

4. the chief officer in charge of a prison

5. the principal or president of any of various universities or colleges

6. See churchwarden

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warden ² British  

/ ˈwɔːdən /

noun

1. a variety of pear that has crisp firm flesh and is used for cooking

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Other Word Forms

Derived Forms

• subwarden
  noun
• subwardenship
  noun
• underwarden
  noun
• wardenry
  noun
• wardenship
  noun

Inflected Forms

Nouns

• wardens
  plural

Etymology

Origin of warden¹

1175–1225; Middle English wardein < Old French (northeast dial.), equivalent to ward- (root of warder to guard; see ward) + -ein, variant of -ien, -enc < Germanic -ing -ing ³

Origin of Warden²

First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English wardoun, wardon(e); of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French or Anglo-Latin wardō (inflectional stem wardōn-)

Explanation

The person who works at a jail as the boss of all the prison guards is called the warden. A warden's job is to manage a prison — so while she may be uniformed and armed like a guard, her actual tasks may look more like a desk job. The noun warden has traditionally been used to talk about someone in an official supervisory position, especially in British English, but the prison guard definition goes back to the early thirteenth century, when it meant "one who guards." The root is the Old English word weard, "a watchman or sentry."

Example Sentences

See Examples For:

warden Warden wardens

White said he did not think a warden would be good as he feared it could result in charges for hikers, but "maybe just a few signs to say 'be considerate'".

From BBC ● Aug. 28, 2026

McCaslin said she wanted to reach a workable solution with the warden, saying, “I want him to have his discovery. He’s entitled to it.”

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jun. 29, 2026

Shortly after he was released, Landor sued the warden and the guards for violating the 2000 law, known as RLUIPA, which promised “appropriate relief” to those whose rights were violated.

From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 23, 2026

Officials at the Federal Reserve watch long-run inflation expectations closely, because higher expected inflation could be a sign the central bank is losing credibility as a warden of stable prices.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 24, 2026

“We’d be delighted. Wouldn’t we, Mr. Flanagan?” the warden asks.

From "Al Capone Does My Shirts" by Gennifer Choldenko

But investigators have not yet found documentation showing that permission from Tamil Nadu's Chief Wildlife Warden had been obtained for the animals to be brought into the state, the official said.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

The state's Chief Wildlife Warden Rakesh Kumar Dogra told BBC Tamil that individuals could keep a lar gibbon if they had the permits and documentation required by law.

From BBC ● Aug. 13, 2026

“We have production capacity and we are starting to build even ahead” of a final contract, Northrop CEO Kathy Warden said during an earnings call.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 21, 2026

“With our diverse portfolio, robust manufacturing capacity and proven performance, we’re delivering differentiating technology at speed and scale in support of our customers’ needs,” Warden said.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Apr. 21, 2026

Once he focused on a goal, the Warden refused to quit.

From "Mountains Beyond Mountains" by Tracy Kidder and Michael French

A spokesperson for Colmore and Southside Business Improvement Districts said wardens had, on occasion, witnessed groups of riders while carrying out patrols and had shared information with relevant agencies where appropriate.

From BBC ● Sep. 19, 2026

With the help of local volunteers and wardens, who monitor breeding sites 24 hours a day, the future of the little tern is looking much brighter than it did back in 1986.

From BBC ● Jul. 10, 2026

Samuel Adams and John Hancock were both fire wardens.

From The Wall Street Journal ● Jul. 3, 2026

The new wardens of a tiny island with only a handful of human inhabitants say moving there full-time has been a "dream come true".

From BBC ● May 21, 2026

There was only one reason why a middle pretty would be here in New Pretty Town: The wardens were looking for someone, and they were serious about finding him or her.

From "Uglies" by Scott Westerfeld

Related Words

• administrator
• caretaker
• curator
• superintendent