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• ward
  ward

  noun

  a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes.
• Ward
  Ward

  noun

  (Aaron) Montgomery, 1843–1913, U.S. merchant and mail-order retailer.
• -ward
  -ward

  a native English suffix denoting spatial or temporal direction, as specified by the initial element.

ward

¹ American  

[wawrd] / wɔrd /

noun

1. a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes.

   Synonyms:

   precinct

2. one of the districts into which certain English and Scottish boroughs are divided.

3. a division, floor, or room of a hospital for a particular class or group of patients.

   a convalescent ward; a critical ward.

4. any of the separate divisions of a prison.

5. a political subdivision of a parish in Louisiana.

6. Mormon Church. one of the subdivisions of a stake, presided over by a bishop.

7. Fortification. an open space within or between the walls of a castle or fortified place.

   the castle's lower ward.

8. Law.

   1. a person, especially a minor, who has been legally placed under the care of a guardian or a court.

   2. the state of being under the care or control of a legal guardian.

   3. guardianship over a minor or some other person legally incapable of managing their own affairs.

9. the state of being under restraining guard or in custody.

10. a person who is under the protection or control of another.

    Synonyms:

    protégé

11. a movement or posture of defense, as in fencing.

12. a curved ridge of metal inside a lock, forming an obstacle to the passage of a key that does not have a corresponding notch.

13. the notch or slot in the bit of a key into which such a ridge fits.

14. the act of keeping guard or protective watch.

    watch and ward.

15. Archaic. a company of guards or a garrison.

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verb (used with object)

1. to avert, repel, or turn aside (danger, harm, an attack, an assailant, etc.) (usually followed byoff ).

   to ward off a blow; to ward off evil.

   Synonyms:

   prevent, parry

2. to place in a ward, as of a hospital or prison.

3. Archaic. to protect; guard.

Ward ² American  

[wawrd] / wɔrd /

noun

1. (Aaron) Montgomery, 1843–1913, U.S. merchant and mail-order retailer.

2. Artemas 1727–1800, American general in the American Revolution.

3. Artemus Charles Farrar Browne, 1834–67, U.S. humorist.

4. Barbara Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, 1914–81, English economist and author.

5. Mrs. Humphry Mary Augusta Arnold, 1851–1920, English novelist, born in Tasmania.

6. Sir Joseph George, 1856–1930, New Zealand statesman, born in Australia: prime minister of New Zealand 1906–12, 1928–30.

7. Lester Frank, 1841–1913, U.S. sociologist.

8. Nathaniel Theodore de la Guard, 1578?–1652, English clergyman, lawyer, and author in America.

9. a male given name.

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-ward ³ American  

1. a native English suffix denoting spatial or temporal direction, as specified by the initial element.

   toward; seaward; afterward; backward.

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ward ¹ British  

/ wɔːd /

noun

1. (in many countries) a district into which a city, town, parish, or other area is divided for administration, election of representatives, etc

2. a room in a hospital, esp one for patients requiring similar kinds of care

   a maternity ward

3. one of the divisions of a prison

4. an open space enclosed within the walls of a castle

5. law

   1. Also called: ward of court.  a person, esp a minor or one legally incapable of managing his own affairs, placed under the control or protection of a guardian or of a court

   2. guardianship, as of a minor or legally incompetent person

6. the state of being under guard or in custody

7. a person who is under the protection or in the custody of another

8. a means of protection

9. 1. an internal ridge or bar in a lock that prevents an incorrectly cut key from turning

   2. a corresponding groove cut in a key

10. a less common word for warden 1

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verb

1. archaic (tr) to guard or protect

Ward ² British  

/ wɔːd /

noun

1. Dame Barbara ( Mary ), Baroness Jackson. 1914–81, British economist, environmentalist, and writer. Her books include Spaceship Earth (1966)

2. Mrs Humphry, married name of Mary Augusta Arnold. 1851–1920, English novelist. Her novels include Robert Elsmere (1888) and The Case of Richard Meynell (1911)

3. Sir Joseph George. 1856–1930, New Zealand statesman; prime minister of New Zealand (1906–12; 1928–30)

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-ward ³ British  

suffix

1. (forming adjectives) indicating direction towards

   a backward step

   heavenward progress

2. (forming adverbs) a variant and the usual US and Canadian form of -wards

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Spelling

Both -ward and -wards occur in such words as backward, forward, upward, and toward. The -ward form is by far the more common in edited American English writing.

Usage

What does -ward mean? The suffix -ward is used to mean "in the direction of," either in time or space. It is often used in everyday and technical terms. The form -ward comes from Old English -weard, meaning “towards.”What are variants of -ward?The suffix -ward is more common in North American English. In British English, the variant -wards, as in towards, is more commonly used. Want to know more? Read our Words That Use article on -wards.

Other Word Forms

• wardless
  adjective

Etymology

Origin of ward¹

First recorded before 900; Middle English noun warde, Old English weard; Middle English verb warde(n), Old English weardian; cognate with Middle Dutch waerden, German warten; cf. guard

Origin of -ward³

Middle English; Old English -weard towards; cognate with German -wärts; akin to Latin vertere to turn ( see verse)

Explanation

A ward is a group of rooms or a section in a hospital or prison; in a hospital, different wards deal with different needs, like the psychiatric ward or maternity ward. Although ward is most often used in connection with hospitals and prisons, cities and towns can also be broken into wards. These are usually geographic areas that are used in elections: city council members often represent wards of the city. A ward is also the name given to a child who is watched over by someone other than his parents. Sometimes children are known as "wards of the state," meaning they have been taken from their homes.

Example Sentences

However, in St Peter's ward, the party won with 1,352 votes, with an independent candidate receiving 1,175 and Reform UK with 864.

From BBC • May 21, 2026

Wedbush analyst Michael Piccolo said in a note last week that eBay had significant resources at its disposal to ward off any takeover attempt, including the possible adoption of a shareholder-rights plan.

From MarketWatch • May 20, 2026

A 50-year-old man in an isolation ward in western Uganda was showing Ebola-like symptoms on Tuesday, including bleeding from the mouth, the local district health department reported.

From The Wall Street Journal • May 19, 2026

He was supposed to go home three days later - but months on he is still stuck in a hospital ward.

From BBC • May 19, 2026

Did she say something I’d forgotten that might help us to ward off the chupacabras?

From "Summer of the Mariposas" by Guadalupe García McCall

Related Words

• department
• parish
• precinct