Meanings
old guard1
nounold guard (plural old guards)
plural old guards
- A conservative, reactionary faction that is more unwilling to accept new ideas than their peers are.
- An established group of prestige and influence.
The Blues, without new big-money signings Fernando Torres and David Luiz, relied on their old guard to dig them out of an early hole.
2011 February 1, Saj Chowdhury, “Sunderland 2 - 4 Chelsea”, in BBC
Old Guard2
Synonyms & antonyms
Opposite
Also see
Origin
- Frenchvieille garde
- Englishold guard
Calque of French vieille garde.
More words from French
Full word history & related roots →Translations
Danish gammel garde
- gammel gardeold guard
Dutch oude garde
- oude gardeold guard
Finnish vanha kaarti
- vanha kaartiold guard
French arrière-garde, vieille garde
- arrière-gardeold guard
- vieille gardeold guard
Greek παλιά φρουρά
- παλιά φρουρά (paliá frourá)old guard
Irish seanfhondúirí, riadairí
- seanfhondúiríold guard
- riadairíold guard
- seandreamold guard
Polish stara gwardia
- stara gwardiaold guard
Cite this entry
APA
old guard. (n.d.). In WatkinsX Dictionary. Retrieved November 4, 2026, from https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20guard
MLA
“old guard.” WatkinsX Dictionary, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20guard. Accessed November 4, 2026.
Chicago
WatkinsX Dictionary, s.v. “old guard,” accessed November 4, 2026, https://dictionary.watkinsx.com/word/old%20guard.
Source: old guard on Wiktionary, CC BY-SA 4.0.