Meaning & use
guarding
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“guarding” is a form of “guard”. See that entry for the full set of meanings.
Meanings
verbtransitive or intransitive
Present participle of guard: protecting or watching over someone or something.
Grammar: Can take an object (guarding the door) or be used without one (guarding against attack).
Patterns
- guarding something
- guarding against something
- be guarding
The dog is guarding the house while we are away.
She was guarding the entrance to the building.
They are guarding against possible security threats.
noununcountable
The act of protecting or watching over something.
Grammar: Uncountable; often used in compounds like 'guarding of the border'.
Patterns
- the guarding of something
The guarding of the museum is done by professional security staff.
Guarding the border requires constant vigilance.
Word forms
| third person singular | guards |
|---|---|
| past tense | guarded |
| past participle | guarded |
| present participle | guarding |
Common combinations
- guarding the door
- The soldier stood guarding the door all night.
- guarding against
- We are guarding against computer viruses.
- guarding the house
- The dog is guarding the house.
- be guarding
- They are guarding the treasure.
Synonyms and how they differ
- protecting
- Similar, but 'protecting' emphasizes keeping safe from harm, while 'guarding' emphasizes watching over.
- watching
- 'Watching' is more general; 'guarding' implies a duty to protect.
Opposites
Word family
Commonly confused: guarding or guiding?
guarding vs guiding
Means showing the way; 'guarding' means protecting. They sound similar but have different meanings.
Practice
The security team is ____ the building tonight.
Choose one answer.
After 'is', we need the present participle 'guarding' to form the present continuous tense. 'Guarded' is past tense, 'guards' is third person singular, and 'guard' is the base form.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “guarding”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.