ward off

phrasal verb

warded off; warding off; wards off
: to avoid being hit by (something)
ward off a blow
often used figuratively
I tried different remedies to ward off a cold.

Examples of ward off in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web The director insisted that purposely keeping budgets low on his films was a way to ward off meddling from his financiers. Christopher Vourlias, Variety, 18 Aug. 2024 Both Hill-Johnson and Andrew believe that Mack learned of his diagnosis in New York and took off for Overcomer Ministry, using the church as a shield to ward off the shadows of his past. Cheyenne Roundtree, Rolling Stone, 16 Aug. 2024 Some prevention methods include installing a water softener, habitually using a squeegee after showering, and trying out viral hacks to ward off water spots. Mary Cornetta, Better Homes & Gardens, 12 Aug. 2024 Inside the belly of the Georgia State Convocation Center Tuesday night, electric over the prospect of a Kamala Harris presidency—or perhaps dead set on wanting to ward off another Trump White House—a crowd that cut across generations erupted into a 10,000-person swag surf. Jason Parham, WIRED, 2 Aug. 2024 See all Example Sentences for ward off 

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

Dictionary Entries Near ward off

Cite this Entry

“Ward off.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/ward%20off. Accessed 13 Sep. 2024.

More from Merriam-Webster on ward off

Last Updated: - Updated example sentences
Love words? Need even more definitions?

Subscribe to America's largest dictionary and get thousands more definitions and advanced search—ad free!