guard against
phrasal verb
guarded against; guarding against; guards against
: to try to keep (something) from happening
Clean the wound to guard against infection.
That's the sort of thinking we have to guard against.
Examples of guard against in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
My purpose is to encourage you to be extra vigilant in guarding against Trump’s further use of these three pretexts to erode democracy and attack our freedoms.
—
Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 27 June 2025
Open source’s protection against lock-in may also help guard against some geopolitical shifts that might otherwise force organizations to change their tech stacks.
—Ann Schlemmer, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
To guard against the tyranny of the majority, for example, India defined citizenship entirely by the principle of jus soli—place of birth—rather than by ascriptive markers such as religion, wealth, or race.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Consider also how an unelected billionaire, Elon Musk, was granted the power to withhold funding from federal agencies that guard against abuse of consumers, assure the safety of our communities and oversee the collection of our taxes.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for guard against
Examples are automatically compiled from online sources to
show current usage.
Read More
Opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors.
Send us feedback.
Robert B. Reich, Hartford Courant, 27 June 2025
Open source’s protection against lock-in may also help guard against some geopolitical shifts that might otherwise force organizations to change their tech stacks.
—Ann Schlemmer, Forbes.com, 24 June 2025
To guard against the tyranny of the majority, for example, India defined citizenship entirely by the principle of jus soli—place of birth—rather than by ascriptive markers such as religion, wealth, or race.
—Ashley J. Tellis, Foreign Affairs, 17 June 2025
Consider also how an unelected billionaire, Elon Musk, was granted the power to withhold funding from federal agencies that guard against abuse of consumers, assure the safety of our communities and oversee the collection of our taxes.
—Reader Commentary, Baltimore Sun, 3 June 2025
See All Example Sentences for guard against
Cite this Entry
“Guard against.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/guard%20against. Accessed 2 Jul. 2025.
Copy CitationLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share