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
Being joined by his two most recent Democratic predecessors is also a luxury that presumptive Republican nominee Donald Trump lacks, having alienated himself from the Republican Party's old guard.
—
Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
After his government years, Mr. Ryzhkov faded into Russia’s leftist old guard, eventually leading a small Communist faction in Parliament called Power to the People.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
Leaning into divisions among Republicans, Buzbee portrayed the impeachment as a plot orchestrated by an old guard of GOP rivals.
—Paul J. Weber, Jim Vertuno and Jake Bleiberg The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2023
Nonetheless, the existence of a big divide between the new and old guards in entertainment is taken as gospel by the unions.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Oct. 2023
The awards marked a big night for Hollywood’s old guard and a disappointment for streaming companies.
—Thomas Buckley, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024
This old guard not only includes large corporations that remain behind the times technologically but also hundreds of thousands of moribund small and medium enterprises.
—Richard Katz, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2024
From labor’s vantage point, the long stalemate in the WGA contract negotiations that prolonged the strike was fueled by discord between showbiz’s new and old guards.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Oct. 2023
While the new era of RHONY is all about crying, our old guards (and Kristen Taekman) are bringing back the comedy.
—Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023
Sudiksha Kochi, USA TODAY, 28 Mar. 2024
After his government years, Mr. Ryzhkov faded into Russia’s leftist old guard, eventually leading a small Communist faction in Parliament called Power to the People.
—Robert D. McFadden, New York Times, 28 Feb. 2024
Leaning into divisions among Republicans, Buzbee portrayed the impeachment as a plot orchestrated by an old guard of GOP rivals.
—Paul J. Weber, Jim Vertuno and Jake Bleiberg The Associated Press, Arkansas Online, 16 Sep. 2023
Nonetheless, the existence of a big divide between the new and old guards in entertainment is taken as gospel by the unions.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Oct. 2023
The awards marked a big night for Hollywood’s old guard and a disappointment for streaming companies.
—Thomas Buckley, Fortune, 11 Mar. 2024
This old guard not only includes large corporations that remain behind the times technologically but also hundreds of thousands of moribund small and medium enterprises.
—Richard Katz, Foreign Affairs, 31 Jan. 2024
From labor’s vantage point, the long stalemate in the WGA contract negotiations that prolonged the strike was fueled by discord between showbiz’s new and old guards.
—Cynthia Littleton, Variety, 11 Oct. 2023
While the new era of RHONY is all about crying, our old guards (and Kristen Taekman) are bringing back the comedy.
—Vulture, 5 Nov. 2023
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'old guard.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
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Cite this Entry
“Old guard.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/old%20guard. Accessed 25 Apr. 2024.
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