Meaning & use
steward
Last updated
Meanings
nouncountableold-fashioned
A person who looks after passengers on a ship, plane or train, serving food and helping with needs.
Grammar: Modern airlines usually say flight attendant.
Patterns
- a steward on something
The steward brought blankets to the passengers on the night ferry.
A steward showed us to our cabin.
She worked as a steward on cruise ships for five years.
nouncountable
A person who is responsible for managing or protecting property, money or resources for someone else.
Grammar: Often followed by of: a steward of the land.
Patterns
- a steward of something
As steward of the estate, he oversaw the farms and accounts.
Citizens must be good stewards of the environment.
The treasurer acts as steward of the club's funds.
nouncountableBritish
An official who keeps order and helps at a large event such as a race or concert.
Grammar: Common in British usage for race meetings and sports grounds.
Patterns
- a steward at something
Stewards guided the crowd to the exits after the match.
A steward checked tickets at the gate.
The race stewards disqualified the rider.
verbtransitiveformal
To manage or look after something carefully on behalf of others.
Grammar: Takes an object: steward the land.
Patterns
- steward something
Farmers must steward the soil for future generations.
She stewarded the project through its early years.
The trust stewards the forest as a public park.
Word forms
| plural | stewards |
|---|---|
| third person singular | stewards |
| past tense | stewarded |
| past participle | stewarded |
| -ing form | stewarding |
Common combinations
- steward of the land
- The farmer sees himself as a steward of the land.
- flight steward
- A flight steward demonstrated the safety procedures.
- shop steward
- The shop steward spoke for the workers.
- good steward
- A good steward protects resources for the future.
- race steward
- A race steward reviewed the footage.
Synonyms and how they differ
- attendant
- Attendant describes any person serving others, while steward is tied to ships, planes and events.
- custodian
- Custodian stresses guarding something valuable, whereas steward also suggests managing it.
- manager
- A manager is in charge of an organization, while a steward looks after something on behalf of someone else.
- guardian
- Guardian emphasizes protection, while steward emphasizes careful management.
Word family
- stewardess noun
- a woman steward, now often avoided in favor of a neutral term
- stewardship noun
- responsible management of something
- shop steward noun
- a union representative
Commonly confused: steward or stewart?
steward vs stewart
Stewart is a surname; the job title is spelled steward.
Practice
The farmers saw themselves as ___ of the land, caring for it for the next generation.
Choose one answer.
Stewards means people responsible for caring for something, which fits caring for the land for the next generation. The others describe different relationships.
Make it your own
Write a sentence using “steward”, then check it and compare it with the examples above.