walk-in vs ward

walk-in

noun
  • A relatively larger room or (especially) an apartment that is entered directly, not via an intervening passage or lobby. 

  • A demonstration or protest in which the participants assemble outside a facility, gain media exposure, and enter the facility in unison. 

  • A relatively small room (such as a closet or pantry) or refrigerator or freezer that is spacious enough to walk into. 

  • A customer, job applicant or similar who visits a restaurant, medical facility, car dealership, etc. without a reservation, appointment, or referral. 

  • A person whose original soul has departed the body and been replaced with another. 

  • A facility or an event that principally handles customers who do not have an appointment. 

  • A defector (or similar) who walks into an embassy (etc) unannounced. 

  • A facility accessed on foot rather than by car, usually contrasted to drive-in. 

adj
  • Accessed by walking, either exclusively, as a campground, or together with drive-in access, as at some drive-in movie theaters. 

  • Gaining access through unlocked doors. 

  • Designed to be possible to walk into (without stepping over a ledge, etc). 

  • That people may enter without a prior appointment. 

  • Spacious enough to walk into. 

ward

noun
  • A part of a hospital, with beds, where patients reside. 

  • The ridges on the inside of a lock, or the incisions on a key. 

  • The action of a watchman; monitoring, surveillance (usually in phrases keep ward etc.) 

  • An object used for guarding. 

  • A subdivision of the LDS Church, smaller than and part of a stake, but larger than a branch. 

  • A section or subdivision of a prison. 

  • An enchantment or spell placed over a designated area or social unit, that prevents any tresspasser from entering; approaching; or even being able to locate said protected premises or demographic. 

  • A guarding or defensive motion or position. 

  • Land tenure through military service. 

  • Guardianship, especially of a child or prisoner. 

  • A warden; a guard; a guardian or watchman. 

  • An area of a castle, corresponding to a circuit of the walls. 

  • An administrative division of a borough, city or council. 

  • A minor looked after by a guardian. 

  • A division of a forest. 

verb
  • To defend, to protect. 

  • To be vigilant; to keep guard. 

  • To fend off, to repel, to turn aside, as anything mischievous that approaches (usually followed by off) 

  • To act on the defensive with a weapon. 

  • To keep in safety, to watch over, to guard. 

How often have the words walk-in and ward occurred in a corpus of books? (source: Google Ngram Viewer )