old guard

noun

variants or less commonly Old Guard

1

: the conservative and especially older members of an organization (such as a political party)

2

: a group of established prestige and influence

compare new guard

Examples of old guard in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

More than anything, what made it a Palladino night were the guests, an idiosyncratic mix only this couple could conjure: part Hollywood, part literati; part uptown, part downtown; old guard as well as new. —Jeanne Malle, Air Mail, 7 June 2025

With socialists? Mamdani’s victory means AOC may be emboldened now to run for president in 2028, setting up a huge intra-party battle between establishment old guard moderates and progressives. —Joe Battenfeld, Boston Herald, 26 June 2025

Foxx has underscored this potential first and looks to define the race as her attempt to topple the out-of-step Democratic old guard with fresh perspective. —Brittany Shepherd, ABC News, 15 July 2025

Seeing which teams have successfully moved on from their old guard and integrated their young talent. —Michael Cox, New York Times, 2 July 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1841, in the meaning defined at sense 1

Rhymes for old guard

• asgard
• backyard
• barnyard
• blackguard
• bombard
• brickyard
• canard
• churchyard
• coastguard
• courtyard
• debarred
• diehard