Guard or guards may refer to:

Professional occupations

  • Bodyguard, who protects an individual from personal assault
  • Crossing guard, who stops traffic so pedestrians can cross the street
  • Lifeguard, who rescues people from drowning
  • Prison guard, who supervises prisoners in a prison or jail
  • Security guard, who protects property, assets, or people
  • Conductor (rail) § Train guard, in the UK, Australia, New Zealand, and India

Computing and telecommunications

  • Guard (computer science), in programming language, an expression that directs program execution
  • Guard (information security), a device for controlling communication between computer networks
  • Guard interval, intervals in transmission, used in telecommunications
  • Aircraft emergency frequency, commonly referred to as "guard"

Governmental and military

  • Border guard, a state security agency
  • Coast guard, responsible for coastal defence and offshore rescue
  • Colour guard, a detachment of soldiers assigned to the protection of regimental colors
  • Commander-in-Chief's Guard, a unit of the Continental Army that protected General George Washington
  • Foot guards, a senior infantry unit in some armies, often with ceremonial duties
  • Guard (military), a military guard responsible for protection and ceremonial duties.
  • Garda Síochána, Irish police force informally known as Guards
  • Guard of honour, primarily ceremonial
  • Guards (Russia), elite military in pre-revolutionary Russia
  • Guards unit, a title earned by distinguished units in the former Soviet Union and in some contemporary ex-Soviet states
  • Police in medieval contexts
  • Royal Guard, military bodyguards, soldiers or armed retainers responsible for the protection of a royal person, often an elite unit of the regular armed forces.

Sports

  • Guard (gridiron football), a player between the center and the tackles on the offensive line
  • Guard (basketball)
  • Point guard, or "playmaker"
  • Shooting guard, or "off guard"
  • Combo guard, combining both point and shooting guard
  • Guard (grappling), a position in martial arts
  • Color guard (flag spinning), people who toss flags, spin a rifle and a saber at performances with a marching band
  • Winter guard, people who spin and toss flags, rifles, and/or sabers at indoor performances on a tarp

Other uses

  • Guard (surname)
  • Guards (band), an American rock band
  • Guards (steamboat)
  • Guard (weapon), part of the handle of a sword designed to protect the user's hand
  • Guard (knife), finger protection barrier between the handle and the blade
  • Guard dogs, guard llamas and guard geese, animals employed to watch for unwanted or unexpected animals or people
  • Abdominal guarding, in medicine, the tensing of the abdominal wall muscles to guard inflamed organs
  • Mate guarding, guarding of a potential or former mate from other individuals
  • Mouthguard, a protective device for the mouth
  • Wächter (Anatol) (Guards), several monumental sculptures by Anatol Herzfeld

See also

  • Civil Guard (disambiguation)
  • The Guard (disambiguation)
  • National Guard (disambiguation)
  • Sentry (disambiguation)
  • Sentinel (disambiguation)