What does "steward" mean?
A person who manages the property or affairs for another entity.
Steward
/ˈst͡ʃuː.əd/ name, noun, verb
name, noun, verb ·Common ·High school level
Meaning at a glance
- Primary sense: A person who manages the property or affairs for another entity.
- Grammar: steward is listed as name, noun, verb.
- Nearest alternatives: custodian, accountant, administer, aerial photographer.
- Useful contrasts: damage, destroy, exploiter.
- Usage evidence: "Here you are," the steward says.
How to use "steward"
- Start with the primary definition, then check the part of speech before placing the word in a sentence.
- Compare nearby synonyms to make sure "steward" carries the exact meaning, tone, and strength you need.
- Use the example sentence as a context check. If your sentence uses the word differently, confirm that the grammar still fits.
Meaning check
- Does the word fit the sentence's grammar?
- Does it match the intended tone rather than only the dictionary definition?
- Would a simpler synonym be clearer for the reader?
- Is there enough surrounding context to prevent ambiguity?
Source and review context
This entry combines structured lexical data with WordToolSet review checks. Definitions, examples, synonyms, and usage notes may come from different source tables, so the page is designed to show evidence from more than one angle before you rely on "steward" in a final draft.
If a word has several senses, prefer the sense that matches your sentence's grammar and surrounding context. A correct definition can still be the wrong choice when the sentence needs a different register, emphasis, or level of specificity.
Before you rely on this definition
Read the first definition as a starting point, then check the example, synonyms, and part of speech before treating "steward" as the right word for your sentence.
If your draft is formal, technical, persuasive, or sensitive, compare "steward" with a nearby alternative so the final choice matches both meaning and reader expectation.
Compare nearby meanings
- Use synonyms when you need a softer, stronger, simpler, or more specific word.
- Use antonyms to check the boundary of the meaning and avoid accidental contrast.
- Use the example sentence to confirm the word behaves naturally in context.
- Keep the original wording when a replacement adds complexity without improving precision.
Definition decision workflow
1. Identify the role
Check whether "steward" is acting as name, noun, verb in your sentence. A definition is only useful when the grammar matches the way the word is being used.
2. Test the nearest option
Compare it with "custodian" and other nearby choices to see whether the sentence needs a softer, stronger, or more familiar word.
3. Confirm with context
Use the example sentence below as an evidence check, then read your own sentence out loud to catch tone or rhythm problems.
Review note: Definition pages are checked for source coverage, sentence evidence, synonym support, and editorial insight before they are treated as approval-ready pages. If the evidence is too thin, the page remains available to users but is kept out of the approval-facing indexed inventory.
Final meaning check
Before publishing a sentence with "steward", ask whether the word helps the reader understand the idea faster. A precise word should reduce confusion, not simply make the sentence look more polished.
When the definition, synonym evidence, and example context point in the same direction, the word is usually a safer choice. When they conflict, revise the sentence or choose a clearer alternative.
Definitions
Noun
- 1 A person who manages the property or affairs for another entity.
- 2 one having charge of buildings or grounds or animals wordnet
- 3 A person who manages the property or affairs for another entity.; A chief administrator of a medieval manor. historical
- 4 a union member who is elected to represent fellow workers in negotiating with management wordnet
- 5 A ship's officer who is in charge of making dining arrangements and provisions.
"There is an hour or two, after the passengers have embarked, which is disquieting and fussy. Mail bags, so I understand, are being put on board. Stewards, carrying cabin trunks, swarm in the corridors. Passengers wander restlessly about or hurry, with futile energy, from place to place."
Show 15 more definitions
- 6 someone who manages property or other affairs for someone else wordnet
- 7 A flight attendant, especially male. dated
"The gay Kibbutzniks I met were all ex-Kibbutzniks who were curretly holding jobs as El-Al stewards or in some similarly classic gay professions."
- 8 an attendant on an airplane wordnet
- 9 A union member who is selected as a representative for fellow workers in negotiating terms with management.
- 10 the ship's officer who is in charge of provisions and dining arrangements wordnet
- 11 A person who has charge of buildings, grounds, or animals.
- 12 Someone responsible for organizing an event
- 13 A bartender.
- 14 A fiscal agent of certain bodies.
"a steward in a Methodist church"
- 15 A junior assistant in a Masonic lodge.
- 16 An officer who provides food for the students and superintends the kitchen; also, an officer who attends to the accounts of the students.
- 17 A magistrate appointed by the crown to exercise jurisdiction over royal lands. Scotland
"These lands must have been retained by some earlier Steward, perhaps Walter II (1204-41), when most of Erskine had been made into a fief for Henry, first known ancestor of the Erskine family."
- 18 Somebody who is responsible for managing a set of projects, products or technologies and how they affect the IT organization to which they belong.
- 19 A person who is responsible for the arbitration of incidents at a motor racing event and determining whether or not fines or penalties should be issued for such incidents.
- 20 A person who exercises responsible and caring administration of something; a person who exhibits stewardship.
Verb
- 1 To act as the steward or caretaker of (something)
"Assemblyman John S. Wisniewski, a Democrat from Middlesex County, said, “It’s an uncomfortable situation,” but added that Mr. Codey is nevertheless “ably stewarding the state.”"
Proper Noun
- 1 An English surname originating as an occupation, a variant of Stewart. countable, uncountable
- 2 A village in Lee County, Illinois, United States. countable, uncountable
Synonyms
All synonymsAntonyms
Example
""Here you are," the steward says."
Common questions
What is a synonym for "steward"?
Common synonyms include: custodian, accountant, administer, aerial photographer, agent, air warden.
How do you use "steward" in a sentence?
"Here you are," the steward says.
How do you pronounce "steward"?
Pronounced /ˈst͡ʃuː.əd/.
Etymology
Etymology 1
From Middle English steward, stiward, from Old English stiġweard (“steward, housekeeper, one who has the superintendence of household affairs, guardian”), from stiġ (“a wooden enclosure; house, hall”) + weard (“ward, guard, guardian, keeper”), equivalent to sty + ward. Compare Icelandic stívarður (“steward”). More at sty, ward.
Etymology 2
From steward.