Caretaker
Housesitting, Looking After One's House
noun, verbal noun
You know how 留守 means "absence" or "away from home"? Well, now that you're absent from your home, it's someone else's turn to come to your home and take care of it. This person is the caretaker, someone who's looking after one's house.
This is a jukugo word, which usually means on'yomi readings from the kanji. If you know the readings of your kanji you'll know how to read this as well. Knowing 留守 will be important as well.
一日二万円で留守番の仕事を引き受けた。
I took a housesitting job for 20,000 yen a day.
アメリカでは小さい子どもだけで留守番させるのNGです。
In the U.S., it is not acceptable to leave small children alone at home.
かけたけど、留守番電話だった！
I called, but it was an answering machine!