ward (wôrd)n.1. a. A room in a hospital usually holding six or more patients.b. A division in a hospital for the care of a particular group of patients: a maternity ward.2. a. A division of a city or town, especially an electoral district, for administrative and representative purposes.b. A district of some English and Scottish counties corresponding roughly to the hundred or the wapentake.3. One of the divisions of a penal institution, such as a prison.4. An open court or area of a castle or fortification enclosed by walls.5. a. Law A minor or a person deemed legally incompetent.b. A person under the protection or care of another.6. Archaic a. The act of guarding or protecting; guardianship.b. The act of keeping watch or being a lookout.c. The state of being under guard; custody.7. A defensive movement or attitude, especially in fencing; a guard.8. a. The projecting ridge of a lock or keyhole that prevents the turning of a key other than the proper one.b. The notch cut into a key that corresponds to such a ridge.tr.v. ward·ed, ward·ing, wards Archaic To guard; protect.Phrasal Verb: ward off1. To turn aside; parry: ward off an opponent’s blows.2. To try to prevent; avert: took vitamins to ward off head colds.[Middle English, action of guarding, from Old English weard, a watching, protection; see wer- in Indo-European roots.]American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.ward (w??d) n1. (Government, Politics & Diplomacy) (in many countries) a district into which a city, town, parish, or other area is divided for administration, election of representatives, etc2. (Medicine) a room in a hospital, esp one for patients requiring similar kinds of care: a maternity ward. 3. (Law) one of the divisions of a prison4. (Fortifications) an open space enclosed within the walls of a castle5. (Law) law a. 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 courtb. guardianship, as of a minor or legally incompetent person6. (Law) the state of being under guard or in custody7. a person who is under the protection or in the custody of another8. a means of protection9. (Mechanical Engineering) a. an internal ridge or bar in a lock that prevents an incorrectly cut key from turningb. a corresponding groove cut in a key10. a less common word for warden1vb (tr) archaic to guard or protect[Old English weard protector; related to Old High German wart, Old Saxon ward, Old Norse vorthr. See guard] ?wardless adjWard (w??d) n1. (Biography) Dame Barbara (Mary), Baroness Jackson. 1914?81, British economist, environmentalist, and writer. Her books include Spaceship Earth (1966)2. (Biography) 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. (Biography) Sir Joseph George. 1856?1930, New Zealand statesman; prime minister of New Zealand (1906?12; 1928?30)Collins English Dictionary ? Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014ward (w?rd) n. 1. a division or district of a city or town, as for administrative or political purposes. 2. one of the districts into which certain English and Scottish boroughs are divided. 3. a division or large room of a hospital for a particular class of patients: a convalescent ward. 4. any of the separate divisions of a prison. 5. one of the subdivisions of a stake in the Mormon Church, presided over by a bishop. 6. an open space within or between the walls of a castle. 7. a person, esp. a minor, who has been legally placed under the care of a guardian or a court. 8. the state of being under restraining guard or in custody. 9. a movement or posture of defense, as in fencing. 10. a curved ridge of metal in a lock, fitting only a key with a corresponding notch. 11. the notch or slot on a key into which such a ridge fits. 12. the act of keeping guard or protective watch: watch and ward. v.t. 13. to avert or turn aside (danger, an attack, etc.) (usu. fol. by off): to ward off a blow. 14. to place in a ward, as of a hospital. 15. Archaic. to protect; guard. [before 900; (n.) Middle English warde, Old English weard; (v.) Middle English; Old English weardian, c. Old Saxon wardon, Old High German wart?n, Old Norse vartha; compare guard] ward?less, adj. Ward (w?rd) n. 1. (Aaron) Montgomery, 1843?1913, U.S. mail-order retailer. 2. Artemus (Charles Farrar Browne), 1834?67, U.S. humorist. 3. Barbara (Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth), 1914?81, British economist, journalist, and conservationist. 4. Mrs. Humphry (Mary Augusta Arnold), 1851?1920, English novelist, born in Tasmania. -ward a suffix denoting spatial or temporal direction, as specified by the initial element: afterward; backward; seaward. Also, -wards. [Middle English; Old English -weard, c. Old Frisian, Old Saxon -ward, Old High German -wart; akin to Latin vertere to turn (see verse)] usage: Words formed with this suffix can be used as adverbs or adjectives. Although both -ward and -wards are standard for the adverbial use, the -ward form is more common in edited American English writing: to reach upward; to fall forward. The adjective form is always -ward: a backward glance. Random House Kernerman Webster’s College Dictionary, © 2010 K Dictionaries Ltd. Copyright 2005, 1997, 1991 by Random House, Inc. All rights reserved.Ward a body of guards or defenders, as a garrison (its use survives in wardroom); a body of watchmen, 1500; patients in a hospital ward, collectively, 1768.Dictionary of Collective Nouns and Group Terms. Copyright 2008 The Gale Group, Inc. All rights reserved.wardPast participle: wardedGerund: wardingImperativePresentPreteritePresent ContinuousPresent PerfectPast ContinuousPast PerfectFutureFuture PerfectFuture ContinuousPresent Perfect ContinuousFuture Perfect ContinuousPast Perfect ContinuousConditionalPast ConditionalImperativewardwardPresentI wardyou wardhe/she/it wardswe wardyou wardthey wardPreteriteI wardedyou wardedhe/she/it wardedwe wardedyou wardedthey wardedPresent ContinuousI am wardingyou are wardinghe/she/it is wardingwe are wardingyou are wardingthey are wardingPresent PerfectI have wardedyou have wardedhe/she/it has wardedwe have wardedyou have wardedthey have wardedPast ContinuousI was wardingyou were wardinghe/she/it was wardingwe were wardingyou were wardingthey were wardingPast PerfectI had wardedyou had wardedhe/she/it had wardedwe had wardedyou had wardedthey had wardedFutureI will wardyou will wardhe/she/it will wardwe will wardyou will wardthey will wardFuture PerfectI will have wardedyou will have wardedhe/she/it will have wardedwe will have wardedyou will have wardedthey will have wardedFuture ContinuousI will be wardingyou will be wardinghe/she/it will be wardingwe will be wardingyou will be wardingthey will be wardingPresent Perfect ContinuousI have been wardingyou have been wardinghe/she/it has been wardingwe have been wardingyou have been wardingthey have been wardingFuture Perfect ContinuousI will have been wardingyou will have been wardinghe/she/it will have been wardingwe will have been wardingyou will have been wardingthey will have been wardingPast Perfect ContinuousI had been wardingyou had been wardinghe/she/it had been wardingwe had been wardingyou had been wardingthey had been wardingConditionalI would wardyou would wardhe/she/it would wardwe would wardyou would wardthey would wardPast ConditionalI would have wardedyou would have wardedhe/she/it would have wardedwe would have wardedyou would have wardedthey would have wardedCollins English Verb Tables © HarperCollins Publishers 2011wardAn electoral district of a town or city.Dictionary of Unfamiliar Words by Diagram Group Copyright © 2008 by Diagram Visual Information Limited