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Glite Dictionary
guardhouse

guardhouse

5 4.9
A small building at an entrance where guards stay and sometimes keep prisoners
  • noun
  • /ˈɡɑrdˌhaʊs/
translation icon : caseta de guardia
  • A gray stone guardhouse stood just inside the gate, shaped like a six-pointed star lying on its side.
  • guardhouse at the gates
  • guardhouse at the entrance
  • go to the guardhouse

Examples

  • Take him to the guardhouse and lock him in a cell.

    The Mark of Zorro (1940)

  • "The two soldiers involved in this regrettable incident have been confined in the guardhouse."

    Fiction book (1994)

  • - You can stay in the guardhouse if you must.

    The Zookeeper (2001)

  • Come along to the guardhouse, and we'll find out who you are.

    The Scarlet Empress (1934)

  • Let's check out the guardhouse.

    Attack Force (2006)

  • Return the prisoner to the guardhouse.

    Morocco (1930)

  • Visit the church, the storehouse, and the guardhouse and learn why each was so important to the early settlement.

    Academic text (1995)

  • A uniformed security officer in a glassed-in guardhouse watched the vehicles park.

    Fiction book (1999)

  • The guardhouse at the main gate is brilliantly illuminated in the distance.

    Fiction book (1992)

  • The soldier reported to the guardhouse after his shift ended.

Synonyms

gatehouse
vsguardhouse
4 6.2

A small building by the entrance to a large house or castle that helps control who can enter

is used at entrances but often in military settings and can detain people
guardroom
vsguardhouse
  • Jargon
6.7

A room where soldiers are locked up as punishment

is mainly a small entrance building for stationed personnel rather than only a prison room

How Big

estate
553 4.2
gatehouse
4 6.2
guardhouse
5 4.9
sentry box
1 5.0

Surface Forms

guardhouse singular
guardhouses plural

Morphology

guardhouse = guard + house (transparent) = guard + house

A direct compound 'guard' + 'house' meaning a building used by guards; learners can readily infer this from the components.

Etymology

Guardhouse is a simple combination of guard (from an old word meaning 'to watch' and the same root as guardian) and house. So it literally means a 'house for people who watch', which explains why a guardhouse is a small building where guards stay and sometimes hold people.