a person charged with the care or custody of persons, animals, or things; keeper.
the chief administrative officer in charge of a prison.
any of various public officials charged with superintendence, as over a port or wildlife.
(in Connecticut) the chief executive officer of a borough.
(formerly) the principal official in a region, town, etc.
British.
(initial capital letter) a traditional title of the president or governor of certain schools and colleges.
Warden of Merton College.
a member of a livery company of the City of London.
Canadian. the head of certain county or local councils.
a member of the governing body of a guild.
a churchwarden.
a gatekeeper.
a person who has the charge or care of something, esp a building, or someone
any of various public officials, esp one responsible for the enforcement of certain regulations
a person employed to patrol a national park or safari park
the chief officer in charge of a prison
the principal or president of any of various universities or colleges
See churchwarden
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
First recorded in 1350–1400; Middle English wardoun, wardon(e); of uncertain origin; perhaps from Anglo-French or Anglo-Latin wardō (inflectional stem wardōn-)
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."
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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
Retired lorry driver Stephen Doughty, flew into parking rage when he feared he would get a ticket from the lone warden in a market town.
From BBC • Apr. 22, 2026
After finishing the conversation, Harris, still struck by the insight of the prison doctor, asked a warden how long the man had worked in the prison.
From Los Angeles Times • Mar. 2, 2026
Don Phillips, head waterfowl warden, said it was not the first time nests had been lost.
From BBC • Mar. 1, 2026
Maybe even that coyote who bit the kid, one game warden speculated.
From "Wayward Creatures" by Dayna Lorentz
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.
