ward off
verb
warded off; warding off; wards off
: to avoid being hit by (something)
ward off a blow
—often used figurativelyI tried different remedies to ward off a cold.
Examples of ward off in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
And while the conflict in the Middle East temporarily warded off deflation, the gains have since subsided as Chinese industry continues to run below capacity, the chief economist for Asia Pacific at French bank Natixis argued.
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Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 23 Apr. 2026
Colette, Mark Twain, and William Wordsworth all wrote habitually from bed, for reasons having to do with infirmity, comfort, and warding off distraction; Frida Kahlo painted self-portraits from bed, including the dreams that transcended her physical confinement.
—Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
The deadline has prompted security engineers to focus preparations to ward off harvest-now-decrypt-later (HNDL, and also store now, decrypt later) threats, in which adversaries squirrel away encrypted data flowing over the Internet with the plan of decrypting it on Q-Day—the date a CRQC arrives.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2026
This enables plants a better chance of warding off pests, disease, and climatic stressors.
—Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ward off
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Jeronimo Gonzalez, semafor.com, 23 Apr. 2026
Colette, Mark Twain, and William Wordsworth all wrote habitually from bed, for reasons having to do with infirmity, comfort, and warding off distraction; Frida Kahlo painted self-portraits from bed, including the dreams that transcended her physical confinement.
—Literary Hub, 21 Apr. 2026
The deadline has prompted security engineers to focus preparations to ward off harvest-now-decrypt-later (HNDL, and also store now, decrypt later) threats, in which adversaries squirrel away encrypted data flowing over the Internet with the plan of decrypting it on Q-Day—the date a CRQC arrives.
—Stephen Clark, ArsTechnica, 17 Apr. 2026
This enables plants a better chance of warding off pests, disease, and climatic stressors.
—Samantha Johnson, Martha Stewart, 17 Apr. 2026
See All Example Sentences for ward off
Cite this Entry
“Ward off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ward%20off. Accessed 25 Apr. 2026.
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