national guard

noun

1
: a military establishment serving as a national constabulary and defense force
2
capitalized : a militia force recruited by each state of the U.S., equipped by the federal government, and jointly maintained subject to the call of either

Examples of national guard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web Some signatories posted on X in support of Abbott as well, recalling previously sending national guard troops from their state to help in border control, though none committed additional resources in light of the recent battles. Julia Gomez, USA TODAY, 26 Jan. 2024 Their deaths leave a vacuum atop the ministry in charge of domestic security, responsible for overseeing the country’s police, its national guard and border patrol units. Megan Specia, New York Times, 18 Jan. 2023 Former President Trump has also defended Abbott and called on other states to send their national guards to support Texas. Erwin Chemerinsky, The Mercury News, 1 Feb. 2024 Yermak added that those released included soldiers, as well as police officers and members of the national guard, seized in Mariupol, Snake Island, Kherson and Kharkiv. Francesca Ebel, Washington Post, 31 Jan. 2024 The Ukrainian defense intelligence unit described the bomb attack on Saturday in the occupied city of Melitopol in the south of the country as an act of revenge and said that at least three Russian national guard officers were killed. Matthew Mpoke Bigg, New York Times, 13 Nov. 2023 Videos circulating widely on social media showed that military and national guard armored vehicles had been deployed in Moscow and the southern city of Rostov-on-Don, near the front line in Ukraine where Prigozhin’s fighters had been operating. Ivan Nechepurenko, BostonGlobe.com, 24 June 2023 The Mexican government has deployed thousands of soldiers and national guard troops to deter undocumented migrants. Mary Beth Sheridan, Washington Post, 9 Nov. 2023 Hundreds of guests attended his birthday fete at the Park Avenue Armory, a structure built in the late nineteenth century for a national guard regiment assigned to protect the mansions of upper Manhattan from the envious hordes it was feared might come marauding from tenements farther east. Kim Phillips-Fein, The New York Review of Books, 28 Sep. 2023

These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'national guard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.

Word History

First Known Use

1792, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Time Traveler
The first known use of national guard was in 1792

Dictionary Entries Near national guard

Cite this Entry

“National guard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/national%20guard. Accessed 19 Mar. 2024.

Kids Definition

national guard

noun
1
capitalized : a militia force recruited by each state, equipped by the federal government, and subject to the call of either
2
: a military force serving as a national police and defense force
national guardsman noun often capitalized

More from Merriam-Webster on national guard

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