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lifeguard

lifeguard

83 2.1
A person who watches swimmers at a beach or pool and rescues them if needed
  • noun
  • /ˈlaɪfˌɡɑrd/
translation icon : socorrista
  • Every summer, many lifeguards are hired to ensure the safety of beachgoers.

Nothing's more New Jersey than wearing a Venice Lifeguard tank top.

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Examples

  • At the shore, they joined the two teenage lifeguards and a few other grownups.

    Fiction book (1994)
  • The most famous lifeguard of all time.

  • When the girl got to the top, the lifeguard was screaming at her.

    Fiction book (2000)
  • My first job was I was a swim instructor, lifeguard at a pool.

  • Mary, a professional lifeguard, rescues her son from drowning in the ocean.

    Academic text (1991)
  • Mid morning, the lifeguards fan across the beach and push signposts into the sand.

  • "At least here they have all these lifeguards who've been trained in CPR," Delia told her sisters.

    Fiction book (1995)
  • The lifeguard rescued a struggling swimmer from the deep end of the pool.

  • At the beach, the lifeguard watched closely over the children playing in the waves.

Synonyms

lifesaver
vslifeguard
  • Australian
2 3.2

A person who watches swimmers and rescues them at a pool or beach

has the identical meaning but uses a different common word for the role

How Trained

coastguard
  • UK
3 3.6
lifeguard
83 2.1
lifesaver
  • Australian
2 3.2
attendant
136 2.8

Surface Forms

lifeguard singular
lifeguards plural

Morphology

lifeguard = life + guard (transparent) = life + guard

A straightforward compound 'life' + 'guard' meaning a person who guards lives; the components directly indicate the role.

Etymology

Lifeguard comes from the two simple parts life and guard, so it literally means someone who 'guards life'. That's why a lifeguard is the person who watches swimmers and saves them if they are in danger at a beach or pool.