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Glite Dictionary
warden

warden

248 4.3
A person who manages a prison and looks after staff and prisoners
  • noun
  • /ˈwɔrdən/
  • US
translation icon : alcaide
  • The warden gave a speech to the inmates about the importance of rehabilitation.
  • prison warden

But yeah, I became the the warden of the county jail.

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Examples

  • - So what about the former warden?

    The Rock (1996)

  • I can ask the warden for a temporary transfer.

    Bound by Honor (1993)

  • But yeah, I became the the warden of the county jail.

    Shawn Ryan Show

  • So write to the warden that you want to be part of this, this project.

  • And what I usually do is in my orders, I take the time to send a message to the warden, this person needs mental health.

  • I wrote the warden a letter.

    Bernie (2012)

  • All right, remember what the warden said.

    Edwin Boyd: Citizen Gangster (2011)

  • Tell the warden he now owns 100 percent of Prisoners of Love.

    The Producers (2005)

  • Elections were coming up; names were proposed for the offices of junior warden, senior warden, and master.

    Fiction book (1993)

  • Her latest job as warden of the Women's Facilities started in June of 1991.

    Academic text (1997)

Synonyms

jailer
vswarden
19 3.0

A person who guards prisoners in a jail or prison

is responsible for full administration and supervision of staff and inmates
warder
vswarden
  • UK
4 7.4

A person who guards prisoners in a prison

holds overall administrative responsibility for staff and the whole prison operation
jailor
vswarden
  • Archaic
2 4.2

A person who guards prisoners in a jail

takes the higher administrative role supervising staff and running the facility
jailkeeper
vswarden
  • Archaic
1 4.4

A person who guards and manages people in a jail or prison

is the senior administrator supervising staff and overall prison running
goaler
vswarden
  • Archaic
9.9

An old word for a person who guards prisoners in a jail or prison

is the modern senior administrator overseeing staff and prison operation

Compounds

game warden
  • US
5 3.8

A person who protects wild animals and enforces hunting and fishing rules

fire warden
1 5.3

A person who watches over a forest or park to prevent and fight fires

How Senior

governor
∞ 3.0
warden
  • US
248 4.3
prison guard
26 2.5

Surface Forms

warden singular
wardens plural

Morphology

warden = ward (semi-transparent) = ward + en

Formally looks like 'ward' + '-en' and the meaning 'guardian/overseer' relates to 'ward', but the suffix '-en' here is not a productive English agentive and the specific administrative sense (prison administrator) is conventionalized.

Etymology

Warden comes from the old word ward, which means 'to guard' or 'watch'. So a warden is a guardian — the person who watches over and runs a prison.