guard

/ɡɑːd/

//ɡɑːd// noun

By · According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA) ·

"guard" is a 5-letter English headword indexed on PlainSpell.

The verdict

“guard” is a regularly-used English word, ranked #1,900 in English word frequency and used as a noun.

#1,900
frequency rank, English
5
letters
7
tracked misspellings
20
confusable pairs

According to Wiktionary data (CC BY-SA, analyzed May 6, 2026) - A person who, or thing that, protects or watches over something.

Visual similarity to commonly confused words

How many letter changes separate each confused pair (Levenshtein distance, normalized).

guard vs guru
60% similar
guard vs gurl
60% similar
guard vs guild
60% similar

Source: PlainSpell confusable corpus (Wiktionary, CC BY-SA).

Key facts for guard
PropertyValue
Headwordguard
LanguageEnglish
Part of speechNoun
IPA/ɡɑːd/
Letters5
Frequency rank#1,900
Misspellings tracked7
Confusable pairs20
SourceWiktionary (kaikki.org)

Where “guard” sits in English frequency

Every-word frequency runs from the handful of words we use constantly (left) to the long tail used once in a blue moon (right). guard lands here:

#1#100#1K#10K#100K
← used constantlyrarely used →

Scale is logarithmic (each tick is 10× rarer). Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list.

Spelling & Dictionary Insight

The English entry for guard is 5 letters long, classified as a noun, and transcribed in the International Phonetic Alphabet as /ɡɑːd/. Corpus data places it at rank #1,900 in overall English word frequency, indicating it appears regularly in written and spoken text. Wiktionary records 18 distinct senses for this headword, so context determines which meaning a reader should apply.

Our generated misspelling index lists 7 likely wrong-spelling variants for guard, with forms such as "gaurd", "gguard", and "guadr". Each of these forms differs from the correct spelling by one small edit: a doubled letter, a dropped silent letter, or a substituted vowel. It also participates in 20 confusable-pair relationships, "guru", "gurl", "guild", and more, where similar look or sound leads writers to substitute one word for another in context.

Etymologically, the entry records: From Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder. Doublet of garda, which is from Irish. The correct English form is guard, spelled G-U-A-R-D.

Definition

  1. 1
    A person who, or thing that, protects or watches over something.
  2. 2
    A garda; a police officer.
  3. 3
    A squad responsible for protecting something.
  4. 4
    A squad responsible for protecting something.
  5. 5
    The part of a sword that protects the wielder's hand.
  6. 6
    A part of a machine which blocks access to dangerous parts.
  7. 7
    A watchchain.
  8. 8
    A panel of a car that encloses the wheel area, especially the front wheels.
  9. 9
    A state of caution; posture of defence.
  10. 10
    Something worn to protect part of the body, e.g. the shins in cricket.
  11. 11
    A relatively short player, playing farther from the basket than a forward or centre.
  12. 12
    The position on the popping crease where a batsman makes a mark to align himself with the wicket; see take guard.
  13. 13
    Either of two offensive positions between the centre and each of the offensive tackles, whose main responsibilities are to protect the quarterback, and open up "holes" through which offensive players can run.
  14. 14
    A ground grappling position in which one combatant has their back to the ground while attempting to control the other combatant using their legs.
  15. 15
    A player playing a position named guard.
  16. 16
    An employee, normally travelling in the last vehicle of a train, responsible for the safety of the train.
  17. 17
    A Boolean expression that must evaluate to true for a branch of program execution to continue.
  18. 18
    The aircraft emergency frequency, a radio frequency reserved for emergency communications, typically 121.5MHz for civilian use.

Etymology

From Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder. Doublet of garda, which is from Irish.

Synonyms

quillonprotectionfender

This word in other languages

guarda(Español)garde(Français)Wächter(Deutsch)protetor(Português)

Common misspellings

Also misspelled as: gaurd,gguard,guadr,guardd,guarrd,gurad,ugard

Misspelling Pattern Breakdown

How far each generated variant is from the correct spelling of guard - expressed in single-character edits (insert, delete, or swap one letter). Bigger bars stand out at a glance; a one-edit slip is the hardest to catch.

gaurd2gguard1guadr2guardd1guarrd1gurad2ugard2
Edit distance from "guard"

Definitions, pronunciation, and etymology for this entry are drawn from Wiktionary via the kaikki.org structured extract (CC BY-SA); frequency ordering uses the FrequencyWords open word-frequency list (2018 English corpus, MIT). See the methodology for how each field is sourced and updated.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you spell "guard"?
"guard" is spelled G-U-A-R-D. The IPA pronunciation is /ɡɑːd/.
What does "guard" mean?
As a noun, "guard" means: A person who, or thing that, protects or watches over something.
What words are commonly confused with "guard"?
"guard" is commonly confused with "guru", "gurl", "guild". These words look or sound similar but have different meanings. PlainSpell provides detailed comparisons for each pair.
How do you pronounce "guard"?
The IPA (International Phonetic Alphabet) transcription for "guard" is /ɡɑːd/. Click the speaker icon on the pronunciation badge above to hear it spoken aloud where audio is available.
What is the origin of the word "guard"?
From Middle English garde, from early Middle French or late Old French guarde (“a guardian, warden, keeper”) (whence modern French garde), from the verb guarder. Doublet of garda, which is from Irish. See the full etymology section above for more details.
Is PlainSpell free to use?
Yes, PlainSpell is a completely free word reference. You can look up definitions, pronunciations, confusable pairs, homophones, and spelling corrections across 5 languages without any sign-up or subscription.

Using “guard”

The practical upshot for anyone who landed here from a spell-check.

  • The one correct English spelling is G-U-A-R-D - every other letter order is a misspelling in standard orthography.
  • Say it as /ɡɑːd/ (IPA); tap the speaker on the pronunciation badge to hear it where audio exists.
  • Don't mix it up with “guru” - see the side-by-side comparison. guard vs guru
  • Browse more English words and confusable pairs in the same reference. English words
Data Source

Wiktionary (via kaikki.org), licensed under CC BY-SA & GFDL. Word ordering uses an open word-frequency list; misspelling variants are generated by edit-distance from the correct headword.

Source: Wiktionary (via kaikki.org) Structured Wiktionary extract

Source: FrequencyWords open word-frequency list FrequencyWords open word-frequency list