Dictionary.com
Thesaurus.com
Showing results for guardhouse. Search instead for guardhouses.
Synonyms

guardhouse

American  
[gahrd-hous] / ˈgɑrdˌhaʊs /

noun

plural

guardhouses

  1. a building used for housing military personnel on guard duty.

  2. a building used for the temporary detention of military prisoners.

guardhouse British  
/ ˈɡɑːdˌhaʊs /

noun

  1. military a building serving as the headquarters or a post for military police and in which military prisoners are detained

"Collins English Dictionary — Complete & Unabridged" 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012

Etymology

Origin of guardhouse

First recorded in 1585–95; guard + house

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

He said their occupation of the guardhouse would have sufficed in causing disruption and the damage they caused was "gratuitous" and for "performance purposes only".

From BBC • Mar. 4, 2026

A property of such high value—with its separate 5,000-square-foot guest penthouse, caretaker house, two-bedroom guardhouse, 12-car garage, and parking for 80 vehicles—has a considerably lower buyer pool, because most people simply cannot afford it.

From MarketWatch • Feb. 5, 2026

Whistling Cay has a guardhouse that colonial-era officials used to scan waters for slaves escaping from St. John to the nearby island of Tortola.

From Seattle Times • Feb. 5, 2024

A guardhouse is found at the front of the property.

From Los Angeles Times • Aug. 16, 2022

The drums will beat from here to Antium, alerting every guardhouse and garrison that I’ve escaped.

From "An Ember in the Ashes" by Sabaa Tahir

Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023

Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.