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
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Republican states need not worry much – yet – even though Texas called up more than 5,000 national guard troops to ready for responses to possible upcoming raids there. Thomas Elias, Oc Register, 27 June 2025 At a hearing last week, attorneys for California argued Trump's federalization of national guard troops was unlawful. Larry Kaplow, NPR, 19 June 2025 Protesters fear crackdown: But demonstrators stick to plans to rally in DC before June 14 Army parade Following a high-profile standoff with California authorities, Trump and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth have suggested that more national guard units could be deployed in response to the protests. N'dea Yancey-Bragg, USA Today, 15 June 2025 The next step, then, is though the governor — the sheriff to the governor and the emergency OES at the state — that the national guard be deployed. Tom Tapp, Deadline, 10 June 2025 See All Example Sentences for national guard

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

Browse Nearby Words

Cite this Entry

“National guard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/national%20guard. Accessed 10 Jul. 2025.

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

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