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ward off

British

verb

(tr, adverb) to turn aside or repel; avert

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

ward off Idioms

Turn aside, parry, as in He tried to ward off her blows . [Second half of 1500s]
Try to prevent, avert, as in She took vitamin C to ward off a cold . [Mid-1700s]

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.

Scott hopes this shuttling around of his stem cells, a procedure that costs patients $10,000, will rejuvenate his 82-year-old body and ward off the effects of aging.

From Slate • Mar. 30, 2026

These vaccines may ward off cancer in patients who have been treated for the disease, but are at high risk for recurrence.

From The Wall Street Journal • Mar. 17, 2026

Bournemouth are reportedly set to, external open contract talks with Iraola in an effort to ward off interest from Crystal Palace, Tottenham and Manchester United.

From BBC • Mar. 11, 2026

The tax was pushed by Restore Healthcare for Angelenos, a coalition of healthcare workers and advocates, who argue it is necessary to ward off mass layoffs of healthcare workers and keep emergency rooms open.

From Los Angeles Times • Feb. 10, 2026

His classroom smelled strongly of garlic, which everyone said was to ward off a vampire he’d met in Romania and was afraid would be coming back to get him one of these days.

From "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" by J.K. Rowling

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023