Meanings
gardaí1
- pluralplural of garda
Gardaí2
alternative Gardai
- Irelandpluralplural onlySynonym of police generally.
Sure don't mind the Gardaí they say. They can't see in.
2013, Eimear McBride, A Girl is a Half-formed Thing, Faber & Faber, published 2014, page 115Synonyms: police generally
alternative Gardai
- pluralplural of Garda: members of the Gardaí.
Another horrific attack on tourists to Dublin in the city centre and in the height of summer. Gardaí are doing their job with might and main.
2023 August 15, Senan Molony, “Give McEntee an accountability holiday on street crime–for now”, in Irish Independent, page 8
Synonyms & antonyms
proper nounThe national police force of the Republic of Ireland.
proper nounSynonym of police generally.
Origin
- IrishGardaí“the Guardians”
- EnglishGardaí
From Irish Gardaí (“the Guardians”), plural of Garda
More words from Irish
Full word history & related roots →Cite this entry
gardaí. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/garda%C3%AD
“gardaí.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/garda%C3%AD. Accessed November 4, 2026.
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “gardaí,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/garda%C3%AD.
Source: gardaí on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.