stand guard/watch
idiom
: to stand in a position and guard or watch someone or something in order to look for possible danger, threats, etc.
A soldier stood guard by the door.
Examples of stand guard/watch in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Armed police stand guard on Nov. 14, 2015, overlooking the Eiffel Tower, which was kept dark in honor of those who died in the terrorist attacks the day before.
—
Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Our greeting is drowned out by a cacophony of nearby construction and clusters of energetic children on field trips shuffling down the pathway — in the distance, a row of yellow school buses that snake the perimeter stand guard.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Volunteers work in shifts along the river to stand watch and report suspicious activity to DNR officers.
—Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews ordered a sheriff’s deputy to stand guard near the witness stand.
—Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024
The men recruited another man, Jay Bryant, the prosecutors had said, to open the fire escape door, allowing Jordan to shoot Mizell and Washington to stand guard.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
In New Mexico’s remote northwest corner, these memorials stand watch over the multi-lane freeways that twist their way from the Navajo Nation and other tribal lands into the small city of Gallup.
—USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Police officers stand guard in the center of San Salvador on December 3, 2023.
—Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024
Security guards stand watch at an entrance gate and patrol the surrounding beaches on ATVs.
—Guthrie Scrimgeour, WIRED, 14 Dec. 2023
Daniel Arkin, NBC News, 17 Apr. 2024
Our greeting is drowned out by a cacophony of nearby construction and clusters of energetic children on field trips shuffling down the pathway — in the distance, a row of yellow school buses that snake the perimeter stand guard.
—Yvonne Villarreal, Los Angeles Times, 10 Apr. 2024
Volunteers work in shifts along the river to stand watch and report suspicious activity to DNR officers.
—Tanya Wildt, Detroit Free Press, 4 Apr. 2024
Oakland County Circuit Court Judge Cheryl Matthews ordered a sheriff’s deputy to stand guard near the witness stand.
—Kim Bellware, Washington Post, 1 Feb. 2024
The men recruited another man, Jay Bryant, the prosecutors had said, to open the fire escape door, allowing Jordan to shoot Mizell and Washington to stand guard.
—Kory Grow, Rolling Stone, 21 Feb. 2024
In New Mexico’s remote northwest corner, these memorials stand watch over the multi-lane freeways that twist their way from the Navajo Nation and other tribal lands into the small city of Gallup.
—USA TODAY, 20 Feb. 2024
Police officers stand guard in the center of San Salvador on December 3, 2023.
—Stefano Pozzebon, CNN, 3 Feb. 2024
Security guards stand watch at an entrance gate and patrol the surrounding beaches on ATVs.
—Guthrie Scrimgeour, WIRED, 14 Dec. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stand guard/watch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Stand guard/watch.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/stand%20guard%2Fwatch. Accessed 24 Apr. 2024.
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