How to Use stand guard/watch in a Sentence

stand guard/watch

idiom
Definition of stand guard/watchnext
  • She was instructed to stand guard and keep crowds in line.
    — Claire Fu, New York Times, 2 Jan. 2023
  • Only the sphinxes stand guard vainly over the rivers, which are leaving, and the lions and the griffins.
    — Eugene Ostashevsky, The New York Review of Books, 4 May 2023
  • In the park near my home, a line of century-old London Plane trees stand guard over the river path.
    — Helen Czerski, WSJ, 2 Dec. 2021
  • There, the engines chug, the pipes direct exhaust out the smokestack, and the engineers stand watch.
    — David James, Anchorage Daily News, 22 Apr. 2023
  • The accuser claimed that Kelly would lock her rooms and enlist Copeland to stand guard.
    — Jon Blistein, Rolling Stone, 17 Sep. 2021
  • The plan was to fly with 20 Somali soldiers who could stand guard while repairs were made.
    — Katharine Houreld, Washington Post, 12 Jan. 2024
  • Officers stand guard outside the secure rooms they’re stored in.
    — WIRED, 3 Feb. 2023
  • Unlike their parents, the scruffy, fluffy chicks have pink and yellow beaks and make a raucous noise while their silent parents stand watch.
    — Dinah Voyles Pulver, USA TODAY, 19 Feb. 2023
  • In a fishbowl-like room called a pod, nurses stand watch, never turning away from the monitors.
    — Maria Kefalas, STAT, 22 Dec. 2023
  • Our teams stand guard 24 hours/day, 7 days/week, ready to respond and send life saving help when our community needs it most.
    — Mary Juetten, Forbes, 9 Sep. 2021
  • The building is perhaps most famous for its intricate, marble facade and lion statues that stand guard at the base of the steps.
    — Andrea Romano, Travel + Leisure, 28 Mar. 2023
  • Deputies will deliver the notices and stand watch as tenants quickly pack up their belongings, many with no idea where to go next.
    — Kate Santich, orlandosentinel.com, 6 July 2021
  • The girls stand guard as Valmundsson, a burly chef on a commercial fishing boat, rakes a long metal pole toward the little bird.
    — Cheryl Katz, Smithsonian Magazine, 14 Feb. 2023
  • The landmark north of Cathedral Square is known for the sphinxes that stand guard out front, the most obvious feature of its Egyptian Revival design.
    — al, 8 Dec. 2022
  • In 1936, the four sons of George V (the queen's grandfather) revived what's known as the Prince’s Vigil, in which members of the royal family arrive unannounced and stand watch.
    — Maria Puente, USA TODAY, 8 Sep. 2022
  • Aside from the practical issue (will U.S. troops stand guard over foreign oil valves?), the ethical question of such a law remains.
    — Michael Lynch, Forbes, 17 May 2022
  • Meanwhile, let a nutcracker stand guard with this inflatable version that’s on sale for 30% off.
    — Dorian Smith-Garcia, Parents, 30 Nov. 2023
  • Senior royals traditionally stand guard throughout, in what's known as the Virgil of the Princes.
    — Zoey Lyttle, Peoplemag, 11 Sep. 2022
  • People from the neighborhood helped stand watch and argued with protesters.
    — Frank Shyongcolumnist, Los Angeles Times, 8 Apr. 2022
  • When a dangerous prisoner needs surgery, Nolan and Celina stand guard at the hospital.
    — Olivia McCormack, Washington Post, 17 Jan. 2023
  • The space would be surrounded by a fence and security would stand guard all hours of the day, according to Anderson’s office.
    — San Diego Union-Tribune, 10 June 2022
  • Adams said that more personnel were needed to stand guard while urgent fire and physical safety repairs were made to the buildings.
    — Liam Dillon, Los Angeles Times, 14 June 2023
  • Ohio pro-lifers must continue to be vigilant and to stand guard for the protection of all human life from pre-birth to natural death.
    — Molly Smith, National Review, 7 July 2022
  • Bazan, a Marine Corps veteran, stood guard at the event, and continued to stand watch at following events, helping families to and from the venue safely.
    — Kiara Alfonseca, ABC News, 3 Mar. 2023
  • That crazy idea may soon stand guard at Galveston Bay, home to the nation's largest export harbor and the biggest petrochemical complex in the Western Hemisphere.
    — Ben Tracy, CBS News, 19 Apr. 2022
  • There were no tumbles or tulle train crashes, no assistance required from the young men who stand guard on the staircase and are used as crutches by guests attempting to mount its summit.
    — Janelle Okwodu, Vogue, 6 May 2022
  • And as tensions have heightened, Fontana has added more police officers to stand watch during council meetings.
    — Priscella Vega, Los Angeles Times, 29 Jan. 2024
  • Security guards stand watch at an entrance gate and patrol the surrounding beaches on ATVs.
    — Guthrie Scrimgeour, WIRED, 14 Dec. 2023
  • Democracies in the world will stand guard over freedom today, tomorrow and forever.
    — Libby Cathey, ABC News, 21 Feb. 2023
  • Four crew members also means more individuals to stand watch if the tank is forced to halt on a battlefield crawling with enemies.
    — Kyle Mizokami, Popular Mechanics, 11 Oct. 2022

Some of these examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'stand guard/watch.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

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