national guard

noun

Updated on: 2 Mar 2018

Definition of national guard

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

See national guard defined for kids

Recent Examples of national guard from the Web

Three exits down the highway, the national guard is pulling people out of their houses.

— taysha murtaugh, Country Living, "A Texas Holiday Inn Turned Away This Family's Dogs During Hurricane Harvey," 30 Aug. 2017
Separately, King Salman replaced the minister of the Saudi national guard who controlled the branches of the military that weren’t yet under the crown prince’s control.

— krishnadev calamur, The Atlantic, "Saudi Arabia's Very Public, Very Risky Palace Intrigue," 5 Nov. 2017
And since 1963 the national guard was the preserve of Prince (later King) Abdullah and his clan.

— The Economist, "Saudi Arabia’s unprecedented shake-up," 5 Nov. 2017
The arrests came a few hours after the king replaced the minister in charge of the Saudi national guard, Prince Mutaib bin Abdullah, who controlled the last of the three Saudi armed forces not yet considered to be under control of the crown prince.

— david d. kirkpatrick, New York Times, "Saudi Arabia Arrests 11 Princes, Including Billionaire Alwaleed bin Talal," 4 Nov. 2017
Last month, President Trump became the third president to renew the post-9/11 state of national emergency, which allows the president to call up the national guard, hire and fire officers and delay retirements.

— gregory korte, USA TODAY, "Air Force will recall as many as 1,000 retired pilots to address serious shortage," 20 Oct. 2017
Noguera, the former head of Venezuela’s national guard, was slapped with sanctions by the U.S. in 2015 for human rights violations committed by security forces during a crackdown on protesters in 2014.

— Washington Post, "Venezuela opposition claims evidence of tampered vote count," 19 Oct. 2017
Firefighters, police officers, EMT/paramedic personnel and national guard can have a free breakfast, lunch or Extra Value Meal dinner by showing a badge or ID at 207 participating restaurants in Broward, Palm Beach, Miami-Dade and Monroe counties.

— doreen christensen, Sun-Sentinel.com, "After Hurricane Irma, free meals for first responders at McDonald's on Wednesday," 24 Sep. 2017
Florida had declared a state of emergency, and the governor called up the national guard.

— robinson meyer, The Atlantic, "How the National Weather Service Prepares for the Worst," 12 Sep. 2017

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'national guard.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.

First Known Use of national guard

1792

in the meaning defined at sense 1

See Words from the same year

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NATIONAL GUARD Defined for Kids

National Guard

noun

Definition of National Guard for Students

: a part of the United States military whose members are recruited by each state, equipped by the federal government, and can be used by either the state or the country