warden

/ˈwɔrdn/

/ˈwɑdən/

Other forms: wardens

The person who works at a jail as the boss of all the prison guards is called the warden.

A warden's job is to manage a prison — so while she may be uniformed and armed like a guard, her actual tasks may look more like a desk job. The noun warden has traditionally been used to talk about someone in an official supervisory position, especially in British English, but the prison guard definition goes back to the early thirteenth century, when it meant "one who guards." The root is the Old English word weard, "a watchman or sentry."

Definitions of warden

1. noun

   the chief official in charge of a prison
   type of:

   law officer, lawman, peace officer

   an officer of the law
2. noun

   an official who is responsible for enforcing certain regulations or laws
   types:

   fire warden, forest fire fighter, ranger

   an official who is responsible for managing and protecting an area of forest

   game warden, gamekeeper

   a person employed to take care of game and wildlife

   coyote

   a forest fire fighter who is sent to battle remote and severe forest fires (often for days at a time)

   warrener

   maintains a rabbit warren

   type of:

   functionary, official

   a worker who holds or is invested with an office