steward

noun stew·ard \ ˈstü-ərd , ˈstyü- ; ˈst(y)u̇rd \

|Updated on: 17 Jul 2018

Definition of steward

1 : one employed in a large household or estate to manage domestic concerns (such as the supervision of servants, collection of rents, and keeping of accounts)

2 : shop steward

3 : a fiscal agent

4 a : an employee on a ship, airplane, bus, or train who manages the provisioning of food and attends passengers

b : one appointed to supervise the provision and distribution of food and drink in an institution

5 : one who actively directs affairs : manager

See steward defined for English-language learners

See steward defined for kids

Examples of steward in a Sentence

the steward of their investments
teaching our children to be good stewards of the land
the steward of the estate
The race stewards are reviewing the results.

Recent Examples of steward from the Web

The draft will be sent to the park stewards for review and input.

— melanie feuk, Houston Chronicle, "Lake Houston gators, River Grove boat ramp: 3 highlights from the July KSA Parks meeting," 13 July 2018
TheaterWorks views itself as a cultural steward of the capital, helping to unify those who live and work downtown.

— alison kuznitz, courant.com, "TheaterWorks Throwing Pop-Up Musical Block Party," 10 July 2018
Google is now in the position of having to more actively defend its own data management and user privacy practices, mainly to convince users and businesses that, unlike Facebook, Google is in fact a responsible steward of sensitive user data.

— nick statt, The Verge, "Google tries to calm controversy over app developers having access to your Gmail," 3 July 2018
Both incidents were reviewed by race stewards, and no action was taken.

— dave kallmann, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, "Indy cars will keep coming back to Elkhart Lake. As for Milwaukee, 'it'd be impossible.'," 24 June 2018
Canada, Mexico, and the United States are ready to welcome the world to North America and serve as stewards of the largest FIFA World Cup in history.

— dave quinn, PEOPLE.com, "U.S., Mexico and Canada Will Jointly Host the 2026 Soccer World Cup," 13 June 2018
And his abandonment of US leadership on issues like global warming and global trade has given China the opportunity to claim the former US role as a steady steward of world affairs.

— stephen collinson, CNN, "The Trump presidency is a win for China," 24 May 2018
During the celebrations, captain Jordan Henderson made his way to a steward and asked him to retrieve the banner showing support for Sean Cox.

— SI.com, "Liverpool Players Celebrate Reaching UCL Final With Classy Tribute to Critically Injured Fan," 3 May 2018
Forestry and natural resource experts say there is still time for woodland owners to call on the available resources, implement sustainable management plans and take on the role of forest stewards.

— sarah bowman, Indianapolis Star, "Indiana's forests are in danger, and the threat: You," 12 Feb. 2018

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'steward.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

Origin and Etymology of steward

Middle English, from Old English stīweard, from stī, stig hall, sty + weard ward — more at sty, ward

NEW! Time Traveler

First Known Use: before 12th century

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

steward Synonyms

Other Job Terms

factotum, milliner, ostler, scrivener, tinker, webster, wordsmith

steward

verb

Definition of steward

stewarded; stewarding; stewards

transitive verb

: to act as a steward for : manage

intransitive verb

: to perform the duties of a steward

Examples of steward in a Sentence

will steward the city's library programs

Recent Examples of steward from the Web

The event benefits the Great Land Trust, an organization whose mission is to conserve and steward local lands and waterways.

— yoshina okamoto, Anchorage Daily News, "Celebrating summer solstice: Here are parties and events around Alaska," 21 June 2018
Because of nuclear test bans, the only legit way to stop worrying and learn to steward the bomb supply is to simulate—on a supercomputer—what’s going on inside.

— sarah scoles, WIRED, "Cosmic Ray Showers Crash Supercomputers. Here's What to Do About It," 4 June 2018
Oswalt helped steward the book’s completion, with the help of a journalist, Billy Jensen, and a researcher, Paul Haynes.

— eli rosenberg, Washington Post, "She stalked the Golden State Killer until she died. Some think her work led to the suspect’s arrest.," 26 Apr. 2018
The club steward reportedly locked the food in the pantry and refused to serve them.

— william stadiem, Town & Country, "Can Harvard's Storied Final Clubs Resist the Tides of Change?," 2 Aug. 2016
Duffy notes that social media specialists’ roles are not simply to steward a brand’s presence on social media, but to act as a personal round-the-clock ambassador for the brand.

— jessi hempel, WIRED, "How Social Media Became a Pink Collar Job," 26 May 2018
Grizzlies have been stewarded successfully in Greater Yellowstone without hunting for four decades.

— National Geographic, "Yellowstone-Area Grizzly Bears to Be Hunted for First Time in Decades," 24 May 2018
Visitors will be helped by a team of 140 Royal Borough ambassadors who have volunteered to help steward the event and assist visitors throughout the day.

— katie nicholl, Vanities, "Royal Wedding: All the Date, Time, and Streaming Info a Royal-Obsessive Needs," 11 May 2018
Uber, which hasn’t had a CFO since 2015, needs a finance head to help steward an initial public offering planned for 2019.

— greg bensinger, WSJ, "Uber Stumbles in Lengthy CFO Search Ahead of IPO," 11 May 2018

First Known Use of steward

1621

in the meaning defined at transitive sense

See Words from the same year

NEW! Time Traveler

steward Synonyms

Synonyms

administer, administrate, carry on, conduct, control, direct, govern, guide, handle, keep, manage, operate, overlook, oversee, preside (over), regulate, run, superintend, supervise, tend;

Related Words

care (for), mind, watch;

lead, pilot, steer;

guard, protect, safeguard;

micromanage, stage-manage;

codirect, comanage;

Phrases

watch over;

STEWARD Defined for English Language Learners

steward

noun

Definition of steward for English Language Learners

: a person and especially a man whose job is to serve meals and take care of passengers on a train, airplane, or ship
: someone who protects or is responsible for money, property, etc.
: a person whose job is to manage the land and property of another person