Definition of ward
(Entry 1 of 4)
1a
: the action or process of guarding
b
: a body of guards
c(1)
: a division in a hospital
a maternity ward
(2)
: a large room in a hospital where a number of patients often requiring similar treatment are accommodated
Wallace Thurman died in 1934 in the tuberculosis ward of the New York City charity hospital on Welfare Island.— Zeese Papanikolas
3a
: the inner court of a castle or fortress
b
: a division (such as a cell or block) of a prison
4a
: a division of a city for representative, electoral, or administrative purposes
b
: a division of some English and Scottish counties corresponding to a hundred
c
: the Mormon local congregation having auxiliary organizations (such as Sunday schools and relief societies) and one or more quorums of each office of the Aaronic priesthood
5
: a projecting ridge of metal in a lock casing or keyhole permitting only the insertion of a key with a corresponding notch
also
: a corresponding notch in a bit of a key
6
: a person or thing under guard, protection, or surveillance: such as
a
: a minor subject to wardship
b
: a person who by reason of incapacity (such as minority or mental illness) is under the protection of a court either directly or through a guardian appointed by the court
— called also ward of court
c
: a person or body of persons under the protection or tutelage of a government
7
: a means of defense : protection
ward
verb
warded; warding; wards
Definition of ward (Entry 2 of 4)
-ward
adjective suffix
variants:
or less commonly -wards
Definition of -ward (Entry 3 of 4)
1
: that moves, tends, faces, or is directed toward
riverward
2
: that occurs or is situated in the direction of
leftward
-ward
adverb suffix
variants:
or -wards
Definition of -ward (Entry 4 of 4)
1
: in a (specified) spatial or temporal direction
upward afterward
2
: toward a (specified) point, position, or area
earthward
Test Your Vocabulary
Great Words for Scrabble
-
- Which of the following Q-without-U words means the number five in cards or dice?

Test your vocabulary with our 10-question quiz!
TAKE THE QUIZ
A daily challenge for crossword fanatics.
TAKE THE QUIZLove words? Need even more definitions?
Merriam-Webster unabridged
Share ward
Time Traveler for ward
The first known use of ward was before the 12th century
See more words from the same century