Definition of custodiannext
1
as in keeper
a person who takes care of a property sometimes for an absent owner the custodian made his usual rounds of the building to make sure that everything was OK

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2
as in guardian
a person or group that watches over someone or something served as custodian of the prisoner until he could be turned over to federal authorities

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3
as in defender
someone that protects we must regard ourselves as custodians of the Earth so that its natural resources may be enjoyed by many generations to come

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Example Sentences

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.
Recent Examples of custodian However, a custodian who works in the Oakland County sheriff’s administration building, which is on the same sprawling campus in Pontiac, contracted Legionnaires' disease in November. Kristen Jordan Shamus, Freep.com, 29 Dec. 2025 While some questions remain, city officials acknowledged that retailers needed to be held accountable and better custodians of their carts. Devan Patel, Mercury News, 24 Dec. 2025 Mark Glende, Rosemount, is an elementary school custodian. Mark Glende, Twin Cities, 24 Dec. 2025 But Teamsters Local 320—made up of custodians, groundskeepers, and food-service workers at the university—had chosen that moment to go on strike. Alex Abramovich, New Yorker, 22 Dec. 2025 See All Example Sentences for custodian
Recent Examples of Synonyms for custodian
Noun
  • Photos, Videos, Journals, and Scrapbooks While old photos, journals, handwritten notes, and other personal archives may not mean much to you at the time, check with family members to see if anyone wants to be the keeper of memories.
    Ashley Poskin, Martha Stewart, 8 Jan. 2026
  • The Marquette kid Kolek — more and more of a keeper, a wonderful old expression used by an old Marquette coach named Al McGuire — had five assists in 14 minutes.
    Mike Lupica, New York Daily News, 8 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Before her death, Goodall wrote an open letter — shared with PEOPLE by Animals Asia — about her decision to become Robinson's guardian.
    Kelli Bender, PEOPLE, 5 Jan. 2026
  • Donors should be in good health with no cold, flu, or COVID-19 symptoms, and must be at least 17 years old, or 16 with a parent or guardian’s consent.
    Anne Gelhaus, Mercury News, 4 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Heaps is returning home while some other national team stars have gone to Europe in the past year, including defender Naomi Girma and Alyssa Thompson.
    Romi Bean, CBS News, 13 Jan. 2026
  • Daniels is a perimeter defender and Green guards frontcourt players, and both are arguably the best in their respective roles.
    Joseph Dycus, Mercury News, 12 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Or the bus driver, the janitor, the special-education teacher, working overtime to support their families?
    Sacramento Bee staff, Sacbee.com, 8 Jan. 2026
  • Its member organizations include SEIU Healthcare and Locals 1 and 73, representing workers across various industries, including janitors, child care workers, and private security officers and doormen.
    A.D. Quig, Chicago Tribune, 7 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • According to wardens, a team of trackers spotted the twins on Saturday, with monitoring and protection measures in force to increase their chances of survival.
    CBS News, CBS News, 9 Jan. 2026
  • The firing squad would be made up of five Department of Correction officers selected by the warden.
    Alexandra Kukulka, Chicago Tribune, 6 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Buzelis, however, is bouncy enough to fling shots near the rim as a lingering secondary rim protector.
    Joel Lorenzi, New York Times, 11 Jan. 2026
  • This is not America, and we are not supposed to be taking countries by force; we are supposed to be the protectors of freedom.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Each one grew up in a home that required her to curry favor with volatile and inconstant parents—a menacing father figure, a recessive and enabling mother—and each found a fragile safety in her caretakers’ occasional good will.
    Katy Waldman, New Yorker, 12 Jan. 2026
  • Darren Fletcher’s time as caretaker manager has not yielded the same short-term lift as seen with Ruud van Nistelrooy in 2024 and Michael Carrick in 2021.
    Carl Anka, New York Times, 12 Jan. 2026
Noun
  • Sports Equipment While the dishwasher isn't ideal for cleaning baseball caps, uniforms, or equipment heavily-coated with mud, a trip through a dishwasher cycle is ideal to remove bacteria and odors from mouth guards and hard plastic shin guards.
    Mary Marlowe Leverette, The Spruce, 9 Jan. 2026
  • The Hurricanes were without guard Gal Raviv, who is day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
    Arkansas Online, Arkansas Online, 9 Jan. 2026

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Cite this Entry

“Custodian.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/custodian. Accessed 14 Jan. 2026.

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