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custodians

noun

plural of custodian
1
as in keepers
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 guardians
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 defenders
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 custodians However, those lawyers said custodians are not legally required to make charities open accounts to receive funds. — Hayley Cuccinello, CNBC, 17 Sep. 2026 The solution for most Americans retiring in Europe is to work with a cross-border financial advisor who has established relationships with custodians that support overseas Americans. — Shane Clark, Forbes.com, 16 Sep. 2026 The dirty conditions come as the school board voted last month to cut costs and part ways with about 30 union custodians. — Charlie De Mar, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026 Any school district employee — including bus drivers, custodians, front-office staff, aides and administrators — can get a small (16-ounce) hot or cold drink of their choice. — Cheryl V. Jackson, IndyStar, 11 Sep. 2026 According to the Reza website, the brand actually dates back to the mid-1700s when the emperor of Persia selected the ancestors of the Reza family as custodians of the royal treasury eventually to serve as royal jewelers of Persia. — David Moin, Footwear News, 9 Sep. 2026 This might be a two-step process, of course, with the next custodians initially coming in as minority partners. — Matt Slater, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026 Today, fifth-generation Fiorentinos are the custodians of this old-world, grandest of grand hotels, nearing its 200th anniversary. — Condé Nast, Condé Nast Traveler, 3 Sep. 2026 Many of them had saved money while toiling as farmworkers, cooks, custodians and construction workers. — Ruben Vives, Los Angeles Times, 29 Aug. 2026
Recent Examples of Synonyms for custodians
  1. keepers
  2. guardians
  3. defenders
  4. janitors
  5. guards
  6. protectors
  7. caretakers
  8. wardens
Noun
  • The training keepers this summer — those who traveled and practiced with the USMNT throughout the World Cup but weren’t rostered — were Kochen and Andrew Rick, a 20-year-old Philadelphia Union backup.
    — Henry Bushnell, New York Times, 15 Sep. 2026
  • So Wingard amicably parted ways with Godzilla’s keepers in order to reconnect with the types of films that first put him on the map.
    — Brian Davids, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of keepers
Noun
  • State law requires parents and guardians of students at schools near certain crematorium projects to receive notification about the potential for toxic air contaminants.
    — Madisen Keavy, CBS News, 16 Sep. 2026
  • In a letter addressed to parents and guardians obtained by ABC Chicago station WLS, school officials said the gun did not enter school grounds.
    — Meredith Deliso, ABC News, 15 Sep. 2026
Definition of guardians
Noun
  • Among defensive linemen, PFF rated Biggers, Cooper and Beal as Miami’s best run defenders Sunday, while ranking Uche, Herring and Seiler as the three worst.
    — Barry Jackson, Miami Herald, 14 Sep. 2026
  • With three Panthers defenders in hot pursuit, Walker slowed down and stuck his rear end out, cutting off linebacker Princely Umanmielen and making certain Monangai would get the last half of his big run without being touched.
    — Dan Wiederer, New York Times, 14 Sep. 2026
Definition of defenders
Noun
  • Sasha Valera is a May-October love story between two of the institute’s janitors.
    — Scott Roxborough, HollywoodReporter, 8 Sep. 2026
  • California is set to launch such a database by next summer for school support staff, such as bus drivers and janitors, with substantiated claims of egregious misconduct.
    — Holly McDede, ProPublica, 31 Aug. 2026
Definition of janitors
Noun
  • The Earl of Nithsdale broke out of the Tower of London by dressing as a lady-in-waiting and slipping past the guards.
    — Bill Reinhard, New York Daily News, 6 Sep. 2026
  • Unfortunately, the less said about China’s guards, the better; their main job is to get the ball past half court without turning it over and then feed the bigs.
    — Sabreena Merchant, New York Times, 4 Sep. 2026
Definition of guards
Noun
  • In a role reversal, some children have become their parents' protectors.
    — Claudia Boyd-Barrett, CBS News, 9 Sep. 2026
  • As silly as White and Enes Kanter Freedom look during their cosplay as protectors of women’s sports, the league still had to acknowledge their foolishness and respond that neither man is eligible for the WNBA draft.
    — Candace Buckner, New York Times, 5 Sep. 2026
Definition of protectors
Noun
  • During his testimony, the prosecution produced a spiral notebook in which Clancy had left instructions for caretakers on when to put down the baby, which vegetables to prepare for dinner, how to cut up the sweet potatoes.
    — Eren Orbey, New Yorker, 4 Sep. 2026
  • In Manon Coubia’s visually arresting film Forest High, solo caretakers keep the fires burning in a remote Alpine chalet where weary hikers find modest lodgings.
    — Georg Szalai, HollywoodReporter, 2 Sep. 2026
Definition of caretakers
Noun
  • According to the post, Kentucky State Police Aviation saw smoke in the area, and wardens and search and rescue personnel were able to access the location, near the headwaters of Cave Run Lake, using a boat.
    — Caroline Neal, Louisville Courier Journal, 11 Sep. 2026
  • Game wardens did arrest nine people across Georgia for boating under the influence, the majority of whom were at Lake Lanier.
    — Dan Raby, CBS News, 8 Sep. 2026
Definition of wardens

Browse Nearby Words

custodian
custodians
custodianship
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Cite this Entry

“Custodians.” Merriam-Webster.com Thesaurus, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/thesaurus/custodians. Accessed 20 Sep. 2026.

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